Isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics

ABSTRACT

Provided are isolated polypeptides which are at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NOs: 710-1153 and 9276-15726, isolated polynucleotides which are at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NOs: 1-709 and 1157-9275, nucleic acid constructs comprising same, transgenic cells expressing same, transgenic plants expressing same and method of using same for increasing yield, abiotic stress tolerance, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, photosynthetic capacity, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/904,758 filed on Jan. 13, 2016, which is a National Phase of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/IL2014/050769 having International Filing Date of Aug. 26, 2014, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/932,373 filed on Jan. 28, 2014 and 61/870,380 filed on Aug. 27, 2013. The contents of the above applications are all incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein in their entirety.

SEQUENCE LISTING STATEMENT

The ASCII file, entitled 73581SequenceListing.txt, created on Apr. 9, 2018 comprising 41,597,138 bytes, submitted concurrently with the filing of this application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to isolated polypeptides and polynucleotides, nucleic acid constructs comprising same, transgenic cells comprising same, transgenic plants exogenously expressing same and more particularly, but not exclusively, to methods of using same for increasing yield (e.g., seed yield, oil yield), biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

Yield is affected by various factors, such as, the number and size of the plant organs, plant architecture (for example, the number of branches), grains set length, number of filled grains, vigor (e.g. seedling), growth rate, root development, utilization of water, nutrients (e.g., nitrogen) and fertilizers, and stress tolerance.

Crops such as, corn, rice, wheat, canola and soybean account for over half of total human caloric intake, whether through direct consumption of the seeds themselves or through consumption of meat products raised on processed seeds or forage. Seeds are also a source of sugars, proteins and oils and metabolites used in industrial processes. The ability to increase plant yield, whether through increase dry matter accumulation rate, modifying cellulose or lignin composition, increase stalk strength, enlarge meristem size, change of plant branching pattern, erectness of leaves, increase in fertilization efficiency, enhanced seed dry matter accumulation rate, modification of seed development, enhanced seed filling or by increasing the content of oil, starch or protein in the seeds would have many applications in agricultural and non-agricultural uses such as in the biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals, antibodies or vaccines.

Vegetable or seed oils are the major source of energy and nutrition in human and animal diet. They are also used for the production of industrial products, such as paints, inks and lubricants. In addition, plant oils represent renewable sources of long-chain hydrocarbons, which can be used as fuel. Since the currently used fossil fuels are finite resources and are gradually being depleted, fast growing biomass crops may be used as alternative fuels or for energy feedstocks and may reduce the dependence on fossil energy supplies. However, the major bottleneck for increasing consumption of plant oils as bio-fuel is the oil price, which is still higher than fossil fuel. In addition, the production rate of plant oil is limited by the availability of agricultural land and water. Thus, increasing plant oil yields from the same growing area can effectively overcome the shortage in production space and can decrease vegetable oil prices at the same time.

Studies aiming at increasing plant oil yields focus on the identification of genes involved in oil metabolism as well as in genes capable of increasing plant and seed yields in transgenic plants. Genes known to be involved in increasing plant oil yields include those participating in fatty acid synthesis or sequestering such as desaturase [e.g., DELTA6, DELTA12 or acyl-ACP (Ssi2; Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR; arabidopsis (dot) org/), TAIR No. AT2G43710)], OleosinA (TAIR No. AT3G01570) or FAD3 (TAR No. AT2G29980), and various transcription factors and activators such as Led 1 [TAIR No. AT1G21970, Lotan et al. 1998. Cell. 26; 93(7):1195-205], Lec2 [TAIR No. AT1G28300, Santos Mendoza et al. 2005, FEBS Lett. 579(20:4666-70], Fus3 (TAIR No. AT3G26790), ABI3 [TAIR No. AT3G24650, Lara et al. 2003. J Biol Chem. 278(23): 21003-11] and Wri1 [TAIR No. AT3G54320, Cernac and Benning, 2004. Plant J. 40(4): 575-85].

Genetic engineering efforts aiming at increasing oil content in plants (e.g., in seeds) include upregulating endoplasmic reticulum (FAD3) and plastidal (FAD7) fatty acid desaturases in potato (Zabrouskov V., et al., 2002; Physiol Plant. 116:172-185); over-expressing the GmDof4 and GmDof11 transcription factors (Wang H W et al., 2007; Plant J. 52:716-29); over-expressing a yeast glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase under the control of a seed-specific promoter (Vigeolas H, et al. 2007, Plant Biotechnol J. 5:431-41; U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060168684); using Arabidopsis FAE1 and yeast SLC1-1 genes for improvements in erucic acid and oil content in rapeseed (Katavic V, et al., 2000, Biochem Soc Trans. 28:935-7).

Various patent applications disclose genes and proteins which can increase oil content in plants. These include for example, U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20080076179 (lipid metabolism protein); U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060206961 (the Ypr140w polypeptide); U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060174373 [triacylglycerols synthesis enhancing protein (TEP)]; U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20070169219, 20070006345, 20070006346 and 20060195943 (disclose transgenic plants with improved nitrogen use efficiency which can be used for the conversion into fuel or chemical feedstocks); WO2008/122980 (polynucleotides for increasing oil content, growth rate, biomass, yield and/or vigor of a plant).

A common approach to promote plant growth has been, and continues to be, the use of natural as well as synthetic nutrients (fertilizers). Thus, fertilizers are the fuel behind the “green revolution”, directly responsible for the exceptional increase in crop yields during the last 40 years, and are considered the number one overhead expense in agriculture. For example, inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, or urea, typically accounts for 40% of the costs associated with crops such as corn and wheat. Of the three macronutrients provided as main fertilizers [Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P) and Potassium (K)], nitrogen is often the rate-limiting element in plant growth and all field crops have a fundamental dependence on inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer. Nitrogen is responsible for biosynthesis of amino and nucleic acids, prosthetic groups, plant hormones, plant chemical defenses, etc. and usually needs to be replenished every year, particularly for cereals, which comprise more than half of the cultivated areas worldwide. Thus, nitrogen is translocated to the shoot, where it is stored in the leaves and stalk during the rapid step of plant development and up until flowering. In corn for example, plants accumulate the bulk of their organic nitrogen during the period of grain germination, and until flowering. Once fertilization of the plant has occurred, grains begin to form and become the main sink of plant nitrogen. The stored nitrogen can be then redistributed from the leaves and stalk that served as storage compartments until grain formation.

Since fertilizer is rapidly depleted from most soil types, it must be supplied to growing crops two or three times during the growing season. In addition, the low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of the main crops (e.g., in the range of only 30-70%) negatively affects the input expenses for the farmer, due to the excess fertilizer applied. Moreover, the over and inefficient use of fertilizers are major factors responsible for environmental problems such as eutrophication of groundwater, lakes, rivers and seas, nitrate pollution in drinking water which can cause methemoglobinemia, phosphate pollution, atmospheric pollution and the like. However, in spite of the negative impact of fertilizers on the environment, and the limits on fertilizer use, which have been legislated in several countries, the use of fertilizers is expected to increase in order to support food and fiber production for rapid population growth on limited land resources. For example, it has been estimated that by 2050, more than 150 million tons of nitrogenous fertilizer will be used worldwide annually.

Increased use efficiency of nitrogen by plants should enable crops to be cultivated with lower fertilizer input, or alternatively to be cultivated on soils of poorer quality and would therefore have significant economic impact in both developed and developing agricultural systems.

Genetic improvement of fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) in plants can be generated either via traditional breeding or via genetic engineering.

Attempts to generate plants with increased FUE have been described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Publication No. 20020046419 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,262,055 to Choo, et al.); U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050108791 to Edgerton et al.; U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060179511 to Chomet et al.; Good, A, et al. 2007 (Engineering nitrogen use efficiency with alanine aminotransferase. Canadian Journal of Botany 85: 252-262); and Good A G et al. 2004 (Trends Plant Sci. 9:597-605).

Yanagisawa et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2004 101:7833-8) describe Dof1 transgenic plants which exhibit improved growth under low-nitrogen conditions.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,084,153 to Good et al. discloses the use of a stress responsive promoter to control the expression of Alanine Amine Transferase (AlaAT) and transgenic canola plants with improved drought and nitrogen deficiency tolerance when compared to control plants.

Abiotic stress (ABS; also referred to as “environmental stress”) conditions such as salinity, drought, flood, suboptimal temperature and toxic chemical pollution, cause substantial damage to agricultural plants. Most plants have evolved strategies to protect themselves against these conditions. However, if the severity and duration of the stress conditions are too great, the effects on plant development, growth and yield of most crop plants are profound. Furthermore, most of the crop plants are highly susceptible to abiotic stress and thus necessitate optimal growth conditions for commercial crop yields. Continuous exposure to stress causes major alterations in the plant metabolism which ultimately leads to cell death and consequently yield losses.

Drought is a gradual phenomenon, which involves periods of abnormally dry weather that persists long enough to produce serious hydrologic imbalances such as crop damage, water supply shortage and increased susceptibility to various diseases. In severe cases, drought can last many years and results in devastating effects on agriculture and water supplies. Furthermore, drought is associated with increase susceptibility to various diseases.

For most crop plants, the land regions of the world are too arid. In addition, overuse of available water results in increased loss of agriculturally-usable land (desertification), and increase of salt accumulation in soils adds to the loss of available water in soils.

Salinity, high salt levels, affects one in five hectares of irrigated land. None of the top five food crops, i.e., wheat, corn, rice, potatoes, and soybean, can tolerate excessive salt. Detrimental effects of salt on plants result from both water deficit, which leads to osmotic stress (similar to drought stress), and the effect of excess sodium ions on critical biochemical processes. As with freezing and drought, high salt causes water deficit; and the presence of high salt makes it difficult for plant roots to extract water from their environment. Soil salinity is thus one of the more important variables that determine whether a plant may thrive. In many parts of the world, sizable land areas are uncultivable due to naturally high soil salinity. Thus, salination of soils that are used for agricultural production is a significant and increasing problem in regions that rely heavily on agriculture, and is worsen by over-utilization, over-fertilization and water shortage, typically caused by climatic change and the demands of increasing population. Salt tolerance is of particular importance early in a plant's lifecycle, since evaporation from the soil surface causes upward water movement, and salt accumulates in the upper soil layer where the seeds are placed. On the other hand, germination normally takes place at a salt concentration which is higher than the mean salt level in the whole soil profile.

Salt and drought stress signal transduction consist of ionic and osmotic homeostasis signaling pathways. The ionic aspect of salt stress is signaled via the SOS pathway where a calcium-responsive SOS3-SOS2 protein kinase complex controls the expression and activity of ion transporters such as SOS1. The osmotic component of salt stress involves complex plant reactions that overlap with drought and/or cold stress responses.

Suboptimal temperatures affect plant growth and development through the whole plant life cycle. Thus, low temperatures reduce germination rate and high temperatures result in leaf necrosis. In addition, mature plants that are exposed to excess of heat may experience heat shock, which may arise in various organs, including leaves and particularly fruit, when transpiration is insufficient to overcome heat stress. Heat also damages cellular structures, including organelles and cytoskeleton, and impairs membrane function. Heat shock may produce a decrease in overall protein synthesis, accompanied by expression of heat shock proteins, e.g., chaperones, which are involved in refolding proteins denatured by heat. High-temperature damage to pollen almost always occurs in conjunction with drought stress, and rarely occurs under well-watered conditions. Combined stress can alter plant metabolism in novel ways. Excessive chilling conditions, e.g., low, but above freezing, temperatures affect crops of tropical origins, such as soybean, rice, maize, and cotton. Typical chilling damage includes wilting, necrosis, chlorosis or leakage of ions from cell membranes. The underlying mechanisms of chilling sensitivity are not completely understood yet, but probably involve the level of membrane saturation and other physiological deficiencies. Excessive light conditions, which occur under clear atmospheric conditions subsequent to cold late summer/autumn nights, can lead to photoinhibition of photosynthesis (disruption of photosynthesis). In addition, chilling may lead to yield losses and lower product quality through the delayed ripening of maize.

Common aspects of drought, cold and salt stress response [Reviewed in Xiong and Zhu (2002) Plant Cell Environ. 25: 131-139] include: (a) transient changes in the cytoplasmic calcium levels early in the signaling event; (b) signal transduction via mitogen-activated and/or calcium dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) and protein phosphatases; (c) increases in abscisic acid levels in response to stress triggering a subset of responses; (d) inositol phosphates as signal molecules (at least for a subset of the stress responsive transcriptional changes; (e) activation of phospholipases which in turn generates a diverse array of second messenger molecules, some of which might regulate the activity of stress responsive kinases; (f) induction of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) type genes including the CRT/DRE responsive COR/RD genes; (g) increased levels of antioxidants and compatible osmolytes such as proline and soluble sugars; and (h) accumulation of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. Abscisic acid biosynthesis is regulated by osmotic stress at multiple steps. Both ABA-dependent and -independent osmotic stress signaling first modify constitutively expressed transcription factors, leading to the expression of early response transcriptional activators, which then activate downstream stress tolerance effector genes.

Several genes which increase tolerance to cold or salt stress can also improve drought stress protection, these include for example, the transcription factor AtCBF/DREB1, OsCDPK7 (Saijo et al. 2000, Plant J. 23: 319-327) or AVP1 (a vacuolar pyrophosphatase-proton pump, Gaxiola et al. 2001, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98: 11444-11449).

Studies have shown that plant adaptations to adverse environmental conditions are complex genetic traits with polygenic nature. Conventional means for crop and horticultural improvements utilize selective breeding techniques to identify plants having desirable characteristics. However, selective breeding is tedious, time consuming and has an unpredictable outcome. Furthermore, limited germplasm resources for yield improvement and incompatibility in crosses between distantly related plant species represent significant problems encountered in conventional breeding. Advances in genetic engineering have allowed mankind to modify the germplasm of plants by expression of genes-of-interest in plants. Such a technology has the capacity to generate crops or plants with improved economic, agronomic or horticultural traits.

Genetic engineering efforts, aimed at conferring abiotic stress tolerance to transgenic crops, have been described in various publications [Apse and Blumwald (Curr Opin Biotechnol. 13:146-150, 2002), Quesada et al. (Plant Physiol. 130:951-963, 2002), Holmström et al. (Nature 379: 683-684, 1996), Xu et al. (Plant Physiol 110: 249-257, 1996), Pilon-Smits and Ebskamp (Plant Physiol 107: 125-130, 1995) and Tarczynski et al. (Science 259: 508-510, 1993)].

Various patents and patent applications disclose genes and proteins which can be used for increasing tolerance of plants to abiotic stresses. These include for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,462 and 5,356,816 (for increasing tolerance to cold stress); U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,528 (for increasing ABST); U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,477 (for increasing ABST); U.S. application Ser. Nos. 09/938,842 and 10/342,224 (for increasing ABST); U.S. application Ser. No. 10/231,035 (for increasing ABST); WO2004/104162 (for increasing ABST and biomass); WO2007/020638 (for increasing ABST, biomass, vigor and/or yield); WO2007/049275 (for increasing ABST, biomass, vigor and/or yield); WO2010/076756 (for increasing ABST, biomass and/or yield); WO2009/083958 (for increasing water use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, biotic/abiotic stress tolerance, yield and/or biomass); WO2010/020941 (for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, yield and/or biomass); WO2009/141824 (for increasing plant utility); WO2010/049897 (for increasing plant yield).

Nutrient deficiencies cause adaptations of the root architecture, particularly notably for example is the root proliferation within nutrient rich patches to increase nutrient uptake. Nutrient deficiencies cause also the activation of plant metabolic pathways which maximize the absorption, assimilation and distribution processes such as by activating architectural changes. Engineering the expression of the triggered genes may cause the plant to exhibit the architectural changes and enhanced metabolism also under other conditions.

In addition, it is widely known that the plants usually respond to water deficiency by creating a deeper root system that allows access to moisture located in deeper soil layers. Triggering this effect will allow the plants to access nutrients and water located in deeper soil horizons particularly those readily dissolved in water like nitrates.

Cotton and cotton by-products provide raw materials that are used to produce a wealth of consumer-based products in addition to textiles including cotton foodstuffs, livestock feed, fertilizer and paper. The production, marketing, consumption and trade of cotton-based products generate an excess of $100 billion annually in the U.S. alone, making cotton the number one value-added crop.

Even though 90% of cotton's value as a crop resides in the fiber (lint), yield and fiber quality has declined due to general erosion in genetic diversity of cotton varieties, and an increased vulnerability of the crop to environmental conditions.

There are many varieties of cotton plant, from which cotton fibers with a range of characteristics can be obtained and used for various applications. Cotton fibers may be characterized according to a variety of properties, some of which are considered highly desirable within the textile industry for the production of increasingly high quality products and optimal exploitation of modem spinning technologies. Commercially desirable properties include length, length uniformity, fineness, maturity ratio, decreased fuzz fiber production, micronaire, bundle strength, and single fiber strength. Much effort has been put into the improvement of the characteristics of cotton fibers mainly focusing on fiber length and fiber fineness. In particular, there is a great demand for cotton fibers of specific lengths.

A cotton fiber is composed of a single cell that has differentiated from an epidermal cell of the seed coat, developing through four stages, i.e., initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall thickening and maturation stages. More specifically, the elongation of a cotton fiber commences in the epidermal cell of the ovule immediately following flowering, after which the cotton fiber rapidly elongates for approximately 21 days. Fiber elongation is then terminated, and a secondary cell wall is formed and grown through maturation to become a mature cotton fiber.

Several candidate genes which are associated with the elongation, formation, quality and yield of cotton fibers were disclosed in various patent applications such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,100 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/580,545, 08/867,484 and 09/262,653 (describing genes involved in cotton fiber elongation stage); WO0245485 (improving fiber quality by modulating sucrose synthase); U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,588 and WO0117333 (increasing fiber quality by transformation with a DNA encoding sucrose phosphate synthase); WO9508914 (using a fiber-specific promoter and a coding sequence encoding cotton peroxidase); WO9626639 (using an ovary specific promoter sequence to express plant growth modifying hormones in cotton ovule tissue, for altering fiber quality characteristics such as fiber dimension and strength); U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,834, U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,718, U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,882, U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,708 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,070 (coding sequences to alter the fiber characteristics of transgenic fiber producing plants); U.S. patent applications U.S. 2002049999 and U.S. 2003074697 (expressing a gene coding for endoxyloglucan transferase, catalase or peroxidase for improving cotton fiber characteristics); WO 01/40250 (improving cotton fiber quality by modulating transcription factor gene expression); WO 96/40924 (a cotton fiber transcriptional initiation regulatory region associated which is expressed in cotton fiber); EP0834566 (a gene which controls the fiber formation mechanism in cotton plant); WO2005/121364 (improving cotton fiber quality by modulating gene expression); WO2008/075364 (improving fiber quality, yield/biomass/vigor and/or abiotic stress tolerance of plants).

WO publication No. 2004/104162 discloses methods of increasing abiotic stress tolerance and/or biomass in plants and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2004/111183 discloses nucleotide sequences for regulating gene expression in plant trichomes and constructs and methods utilizing same.

WO publication No. 2004/081173 discloses novel plant derived regulatory sequences and constructs and methods of using such sequences for directing expression of exogenous polynucleotide sequences in plants.

WO publication No. 2005/121364 discloses polynucleotides and polypeptides involved in plant fiber development and methods of using same for improving fiber quality, yield and/or biomass of a fiber producing plant.

WO publication No. 2007/049275 discloses isolated polypeptides, polynucleotides encoding same, transgenic plants expressing same and methods of using same for increasing fertilizer use efficiency, plant abiotic stress tolerance and biomass.

WO publication No. 2007/020638 discloses methods of increasing abiotic stress tolerance and/or biomass in plants and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2008/122980 discloses genes constructs and methods for increasing oil content, growth rate and biomass of plants.

WO publication No. 2008/075364 discloses polynucleotides involved in plant fiber development and methods of using same.

WO publication No. 2009/083958 discloses methods of increasing water use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, biotic/abiotic stress tolerance, yield and biomass in plant and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2009/141824 discloses isolated polynucleotides and methods using same for increasing plant utility.

WO publication No. 2009/013750 discloses genes, constructs and methods of increasing abiotic stress tolerance, biomass and/or yield in plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2010/020941 discloses methods of increasing nitrogen use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, yield and biomass in plants and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2010/076756 discloses isolated polynucleotides for increasing abiotic stress tolerance, yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant.

WO2010/100595 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

WO publication No. 2010/049897 discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO2010/143138 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or water use efficiency.

WO publication No. 2011/080674 discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO2011/015985 publication discloses polynucleotides and polypeptides for increasing desirable plant qualities.

WO2011/135527 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics. WO2012/028993 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, and/or abiotic stress tolerance.

WO2012/085862 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for improving plant properties.

WO2012/150598 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO2013/027223 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

WO2013/080203 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, and/or abiotic stress tolerance.

WO2013/098819 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing yield of plants.

WO2013/128448 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO 2013/179211 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, 15455-15721 or 15722, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least 80% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, 8948-9270 or 9271, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide which comprises a nucleic acid sequence which is at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequence at least 80% homologous to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, 15455-15721 or 15722, wherein the amino acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726. According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, 8948-9270 or 9271, wherein the nucleic acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a nucleic acid construct comprising the isolated polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, and a promoter for directing transcription of the nucleic acid sequence in a host cell.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, 15455-15721 or 15722, wherein the amino acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, or the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polypeptide of some embodiments of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid sequence encodes an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polynucleotide consists of the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid sequence encodes the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant cell forms part of a plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under the abiotic stress.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the abiotic stress is selected from the group consisting of salinity, drought, osmotic stress, water deprivation, flood, etiolation, low temperature, high temperature, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency, nitrogen deficiency, nutrient excess, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the yield comprises seed yield or oil yield.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a transgenic plant comprising the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention or the plant cell of some embodiments of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under nitrogen-limiting conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the promoter is heterologous to the isolated polynucleotide and/or to the host cell.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of growing a crop, the method comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with the isolated polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, or with the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased nitrogen use efficiency, increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased biomass, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and increased oil content as compared to a non-transformed plant, thereby growing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the non-transformed plant is a wild type plant of identical genetic background.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the non-transformed plant is a wild type plant of the same species.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the non-transformed plant is grown under identical growth conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising selecting a plant having an increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of selecting a transformed plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, the method comprising:

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722,

(b) selecting from the plants of step (a) a plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, thereby selecting the plant having the increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of selecting a transformed plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, the method comprising:

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271,

(b) selecting from the plants of step (a) a plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, thereby selecting the plant having the increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of growing a crop comprising:

(a) selecting a parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least 80% homologous (e.g., identical) to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and

(b) growing progeny crop plant of said parent plant, wherein said progeny crop plant which comprises said exogenous polynucleotide has said increased yield, said increased growth rate, said increased biomass, said increased vigor, said increased oil content, said increased seed yield, said increased fiber yield, said increased fiber quality, said increased fiber length, said increased photosynthetic capacity, said increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or said increased abiotic stress, thereby growing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing seeds of a crop comprising:

(a) selecting parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least 80% homologous (e.g., identical) to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions,

(b) growing a seed producing plant from said parent plant resultant of step (a), wherein said seed producing plant which comprises said exogenous polynucleotide having said increased yield, said increased growth rate, said increased biomass, said increased vigor, said increased oil content, said increased seed yield, said increased fiber yield, said increased fiber quality, said increased fiber length, said increased photosynthetic capacity, said increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or said increased abiotic stress, and

(c) producing seeds from said seed producing plant resultant of step (b), thereby producing seeds of the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention, selecting is performed under non-stress conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, selecting is performed under abiotic stress conditions.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplary methods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid containing the new At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15751) and the GUSintron (pQYN 6669) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; MCS—Multiple cloning site; RE—any restriction enzyme; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); GUSintron—the GUS reporter gene (coding sequence and intron). The isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention were cloned into the vector while replacing the GUSintron reporter gene.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid containing the new At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15751) (pQFN or pQFNc) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; MCS—Multiple cloning site; RE—any restriction enzyme; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); The isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention were cloned into the MCS of the vector.

FIGS. 3A-3F are images depicting visualization of root development of transgenic plants exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention when grown in transparent agar plates under normal (FIGS. 3A-3B), osmotic stress (15% PEG; FIGS. 3C-3D) or nitrogen-limiting (FIGS. 3E-3F) conditions. The different transgenes were grown in transparent agar plates for 17 days (7 days nursery and 10 days after transplanting). The plates were photographed every 3-4 days starting at day 1 after transplanting. FIG. 3A—An image of a photograph of plants taken following 10 after transplanting days on agar plates when grown under normal (standard) conditions. FIG. 3B—An image of root analysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3A in which the lengths of the roots measured are represented by arrows. FIG. 3C—An image of a photograph of plants taken following 10 days after transplanting on agar plates, grown under high osmotic (PEG 15%) conditions. FIG. 3D—An image of root analysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3C in which the lengths of the roots measured are represented by arrows. FIG. 3E—An image of a photograph of plants taken following 10 days after transplanting on agar plates, grown under low nitrogen conditions. FIG. 3F—An image of root analysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3E in which the lengths of the roots measured are represented by arrows.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid containing the Root Promoter (pQNa RP) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); The isolated polynucleotide sequences according to some embodiments of the invention were cloned into the MCS (Multiple cloning site) of the vector.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the pQYN plasmid.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the pQFN plasmid.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the pQFYN plasmid.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid (pQXNc) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; RE=any restriction enzyme; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); 35S—the 35S promoter (pqfnc; SEQ ID NO: 15747). The isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention were cloned into the MCS (Multiple cloning site) of the vector.

FIGS. 9A-9B are schematic illustrations of the pEBbVNi tDNA (FIG. 9A) and the pEBbNi tDNA (FIG. 9B) plasmids used in the Brachypodium experiments. pEBbVNi tDNA (FIG. 9A) was used for expression of the isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention in Brachypodium. pEBbNi tDNA (FIG. 9B) was used for transformation into Brachypodium as a negative control. “RB”=right border; “2LBregion”=2 repeats of left border; “35S”=35S promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15763); “NOS ter”=nopaline synthase terminator; “Bar ORF”—BAR open reading frame (GenBank Accession No. JQ293091.1; SEQ ID NO: 15764); The isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention were cloned into the Multiple cloning site of the vector using one or more of the indicated restriction enzyme sites.

FIG. 10 depicts seedling analysis of an Arabidopsis plant having shoots (upper part, marked “#1”) and roots (lower part, marked “#2”). Using an image analysis system the minimal convex area encompassed by the roots is determined. Such area corresponds to the root coverage of the plant.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, nucleic acid constructs, transgenic cells and transgenic plants comprising same and methods of generating and using same, and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to methods of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality abiotic stress tolerance, and/or fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) of a plant.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in its application to the details set forth in the following description or exemplified by the Examples. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

The present inventors have identified novel polypeptides and polynucleotides which can be used to generate nucleic acid constructs, transgenic plants and to increase nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance and/or water use efficiency of a plant, such as a wheat plant.

Thus, as shown in the Examples section which follows, the present inventors have utilized bioinformatics tools to identify polynucleotides which enhance/increase fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency), yield (e.g., seed yield, oil yield, oil content), growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant. Genes which affect the trait-of-interest were identified (SEQ ID NOs: 710-1153 for polypeptides; and SEQ ID NOs: 1-709 for polypeptides) based on expression profiles of genes of several Arabidopsis, Barley, Sorghum, Maize, tomato, and Foxtail millet ecotypes and accessions in various tissues and growth conditions, homology with genes known to affect the trait-of-interest and using digital expression profile in specific tissues and conditions (Tables 1, 3-171, Examples 1 and 3-21 of the Examples section which follows). Homologous (e.g., orthologous) polypeptides and polynucleotides having the same function were also identified [SEQ ID NOs: 9276-15726 (for polypeptides), and SEQ ID NOs: 1157-9275 (for polynucleotides); Table 2, Example 2 of the Examples section which follows]. The polynucleotides of some embodiments of the invention were cloned into binary vectors (Example 22, Table 172), and were further transformed into Arabidopsis and Brachypodium plants (Examples 23-25). Transgenic plants over-expressing the identified polynucleotides were found to exhibit increased biomass, growth rate, vigor, photosynthetic capacity (e.g., increased leaf area for photosynthesis) and yield under normal growth conditions or under nitrogen limiting growth conditions (Tables 173-187; Examples 26-28), and increased tolerance to abiotic stress conditions (e.g., nutrient deficiency) as compared to control plants grown under the same growth conditions. Altogether, these results suggest the use of the novel polynucleotides and polypeptides of the invention [e.g., SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726 (polypeptides) and SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275 (polynucleotides)] for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield (e.g., oil yield, seed yield and oil content), growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, water use efficiency and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

Thus, according to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

As used herein the phrase “plant yield” refers to the amount (e.g., as determined by weight or size) or quantity (numbers) of tissues or organs produced per plant or per growing season. Hence increased yield could affect the economic benefit one can obtain from the plant in a certain growing area and/or growing time.

It should be noted that a plant yield can be affected by various parameters including, but not limited to, plant biomass; plant vigor; growth rate; seed yield; seed or grain quantity; seed or grain quality; oil yield; content of oil, starch and/or protein in harvested organs (e.g., seeds or vegetative parts of the plant); number of flowers (florets) per panicle (expressed as a ratio of number of filled seeds over number of primary panicles); harvest index; number of plants grown per area; number and size of harvested organs per plant and per area; number of plants per growing area (density); number of harvested organs in field; total leaf area; carbon assimilation and carbon partitioning (the distribution/allocation of carbon within the plant); resistance to shade; number of harvestable organs (e.g. seeds), seeds per pod, weight per seed; and modified architecture [such as increase stalk diameter, thickness or improvement of physical properties (e.g. elasticity)].

As used herein the phrase “seed yield” refers to the number or weight of the seeds per plant, seeds per pod, or per growing area or to the weight of a single seed, or to the oil extracted per seed. Hence seed yield can be affected by seed dimensions (e.g., length, width, perimeter, area and/or volume), number of (filled) seeds and seed filling rate and by seed oil content. Hence increase seed yield per plant could affect the economic benefit one can obtain from the plant in a certain growing area and/or growing time; and increase seed yield per growing area could be achieved by increasing seed yield per plant, and/or by increasing number of plants grown on the same given area.

The term “seed” (also referred to as “grain” or “kernel”) as used herein refers to a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat (usually with some stored food), the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant.

The phrase “oil content” as used herein refers to the amount of lipids in a given plant organ, either the seeds (seed oil content) or the vegetative portion of the plant (vegetative oil content) and is typically expressed as percentage of dry weight (10% humidity of seeds) or wet weight (for vegetative portion).

It should be noted that oil content is affected by intrinsic oil production of a tissue (e.g., seed, vegetative portion), as well as the mass or size of the oil-producing tissue per plant or per growth period.

In one embodiment, increase in oil content of the plant can be achieved by increasing the size/mass of a plant's tissue(s) which comprise oil per growth period. Thus, increased oil content of a plant can be achieved by increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass and vigor of the plant.

As used herein the phrase “plant biomass” refers to the amount (e.g., measured in grams of air-dry tissue) of a tissue produced from the plant in a growing season, which could also determine or affect the plant yield or the yield per growing area. An increase in plant biomass can be in the whole plant or in parts thereof such as aboveground (harvestable) parts, vegetative biomass, roots and seeds.

As used herein the term “root biomass” refers to the total weight of the plant's root(s). Root biomass can be determined directly by weighing the total root material (fresh and/or dry weight) of a plant.

Additional or alternatively, the root biomass can be indirectly determined by measuring root coverage, root density and/or root length of a plant.

It should be noted that plants having a larger root coverage exhibit higher fertilizer (e.g., nitrogen) use efficiency and/or higher water use efficiency as compared to plants with a smaller root coverage.

As used herein the phrase “root coverage” refers to the total area or volume of soil or of any plant-growing medium encompassed by the roots of a plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the root coverage is the minimal convex volume encompassed by the roots of the plant.

It should be noted that since each plant has a characteristic root system, e.g., some plants exhibit a shallow root system (e.g., only a few centimeters below ground level), while others have a deep in soil root system (e.g., a few tens of centimeters or a few meters deep in soil below ground level), measuring the root coverage of a plant can be performed in any depth of the soil or of the plant-growing medium, and comparison of root coverage between plants of the same species (e.g., a transgenic plant exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention and a control plant) should be performed by measuring the root coverage in the same depth.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the root coverage is the minimal convex area encompassed by the roots of a plant in a specific depth.

A non-limiting example of measuring root coverage is shown in FIG. 10.

As used herein the term “root density” refers to the density of roots in a given area (e.g., area of soil or any plant growing medium). The root density can be determined by counting the root number per a predetermined area at a predetermined depth (in units of root number per area, e.g., mm², cm² or m²).

As used herein the phrase “root length” refers to the total length of the longest root of a single plant.

As used herein the phrase “root length growth rate” refers to the change in total root length per plant per time unit (e.g., per day).

As used herein the phrase “growth rate” refers to the increase in plant organ/tissue size per time (can be measured in cm² per day or cm/day).

As used herein the phrase “photosynthetic capacity” (also known as “A_(max)”) is a measure of the maximum rate at which leaves are able to fix carbon during photosynthesis. It is typically measured as the amount of carbon dioxide that is fixed per square meter per second, for example as μmol m⁻² sec⁻¹. Plants are able to increase their photosynthetic capacity by several modes of action, such as by increasing the total leaves area (e.g., by increase of leaves area, increase in the number of leaves, and increase in plant's vigor, e.g., the ability of the plant to grow new leaves along time course) as well as by increasing the ability of the plant to efficiently execute carbon fixation in the leaves. Hence, the increase in total leaves area can be used as a reliable measurement parameter for photosynthetic capacity increment.

As used herein the phrase “plant vigor” refers to the amount (measured by weight) of tissue produced by the plant in a given time. Hence increased vigor could determine or affect the plant yield or the yield per growing time or growing area. In addition, early vigor (seed and/or seedling) results in improved field stand.

Improving early vigor is an important objective of modern rice breeding programs in both temperate and tropical rice cultivars. Long roots are important for proper soil anchorage in water-seeded rice. Where rice is sown directly into flooded fields, and where plants must emerge rapidly through water, longer shoots are associated with vigour. Where drill-seeding is practiced, longer mesocotyls and coleoptiles are important for good seedling emergence. The ability to engineer early vigor into plants would be of great importance in agriculture. For example, poor early vigor has been a limitation to the introduction of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids based on Corn Belt germplasm in the European Atlantic.

It should be noted that a plant trait such as yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) can be determined under stress (e.g., abiotic stress, nitrogen-limiting conditions) and/or non-stress (normal) conditions.

As used herein, the phrase “non-stress conditions” refers to the growth conditions (e.g., water, temperature, light-dark cycles, humidity, salt concentration, fertilizer concentration in soil, nutrient supply such as nitrogen, phosphorous and/or potassium), that do not significantly go beyond the everyday climatic and other abiotic conditions that plants may encounter, and which allow optimal growth, metabolism, reproduction and/or viability of a plant at any stage in its life cycle (e.g., in a crop plant from seed to a mature plant and back to seed again). Persons skilled in the art are aware of normal soil conditions and climatic conditions for a given plant in a given geographic location. It should be noted that while the non-stress conditions may include some mild variations from the optimal conditions (which vary from one type/species of a plant to another), such variations do not cause the plant to cease growing without the capacity to resume growth.

One unit of nitrogen refers to one kg (kilogram) of total nitrogen per dunam (1000 m²).

Following is a non-limiting description of non-stress (normal) growth conditions which can be used for growing the transgenic plants expressing the polynucleotides or polypeptides of some embodiments of the invention.

For example, normal conditions for growing sorghum include irrigation with about 452,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 14 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

Normal conditions for growing cotton include irrigation with about 580,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 24 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

Normal conditions for growing bean include irrigation with about 524,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 16 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

Normal conditions for growing B. Juncea include irrigation with about 861,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 12 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

The phrase “abiotic stress” as used herein refers to any adverse effect on metabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability of a plant. Accordingly, abiotic stress can be induced by suboptimal environmental growth conditions such as, for example, salinity, osmotic stress, water deprivation, drought, flooding, freezing, low or high temperature, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency (e.g., nitrogen deficiency or limited nitrogen), atmospheric pollution or UV irradiation. The implications of abiotic stress are discussed in the Background section.

The phrase “abiotic stress tolerance” as used herein refers to the ability of a plant to endure an abiotic stress without suffering a substantial alteration in metabolism, growth, productivity and/or viability.

Plants are subject to a range of environmental challenges. Several of these, including salt stress, general osmotic stress, drought stress and freezing stress, have the ability to impact whole plant and cellular water availability. Not surprisingly, then, plant responses to this collection of stresses are related. Zhu (2002) Ann. Rev. Plant Biol. 53: 247-273 et al. note that “most studies on water stress signaling have focused on salt stress primarily because plant responses to salt and drought are closely related and the mechanisms overlap”. Many examples of similar responses and pathways to this set of stresses have been documented. For example, the CBF transcription factors have been shown to condition resistance to salt, freezing and drought (Kasuga et al. (1999) Nature Biotech. 17: 287-291). The Arabidopsis rd29B gene is induced in response to both salt and dehydration stress, a process that is mediated largely through an ABA signal transduction process (Uno et al. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 11632-11637), resulting in altered activity of transcription factors that bind to an upstream element within the rd29B promoter. In Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (ice plant), Patharker and Cushman have shown that a calcium-dependent protein kinase (McCDPK1) is induced by exposure to both drought and salt stresses (Patharker and Cushman (2000) Plant J. 24: 679-691). The stress-induced kinase was also shown to phosphorylate a transcription factor, presumably altering its activity, although transcript levels of the target transcription factor are not altered in response to salt or drought stress. Similarly, Saijo et al. demonstrated that a rice salt/drought-induced calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (OsCDPK7) conferred increased salt and drought tolerance to rice when overexpressed (Saijo et al. (2000) Plant J. 23: 319-327).

Exposure to dehydration invokes similar survival strategies in plants as does freezing stress (see, for example, Yelenosky (1989) Plant Physiol 89: 444-451) and drought stress induces freezing tolerance (see, for example, Siminovitch et al. (1982) Plant Physiol 69: 250-255; and Guy et al. (1992) Planta 188: 265-270). In addition to the induction of cold-acclimation proteins, strategies that allow plants to survive in low water conditions may include, for example, reduced surface area, or surface oil or wax production. In another example increased solute content of the plant prevents evaporation and water loss due to heat, drought, salinity, osmoticum, and the like therefore providing a better plant tolerance to the above stresses.

It will be appreciated that some pathways involved in resistance to one stress (as described above), will also be involved in resistance to other stresses, regulated by the same or homologous genes. Of course, the overall resistance pathways are related, not identical, and therefore not all genes controlling resistance to one stress will control resistance to the other stresses. Nonetheless, if a gene conditions resistance to one of these stresses, it would be apparent to one skilled in the art to test for resistance to these related stresses. Methods of assessing stress resistance are further provided in the Examples section which follows.

As used herein the phrase “water use efficiency (WUE)” refers to the level of organic matter produced per unit of water consumed by the plant, i.e., the dry weight of a plant in relation to the plant's water use, e.g., the biomass produced per unit transpiration.

As used herein the phrase “fertilizer use efficiency” refers to the metabolic process(es) which lead to an increase in the plant's yield, biomass, vigor, and growth rate per fertilizer unit applied. The metabolic process can be the uptake, spread, absorbent, accumulation, relocation (within the plant) and use of one or more of the minerals and organic moieties absorbed by the plant, such as nitrogen, phosphates and/or potassium.

As used herein the phrase “fertilizer-limiting conditions” refers to growth conditions which include a level (e.g., concentration) of a fertilizer applied which is below the level needed for normal plant metabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability.

As used herein the phrase “nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)” refers to the metabolic process(es) which lead to an increase in the plant's yield, biomass, vigor, and growth rate per nitrogen unit applied. The metabolic process can be the uptake, spread, absorbent, accumulation, relocation (within the plant) and use of nitrogen absorbed by the plant.

As used herein the phrase “nitrogen-limiting conditions” refers to growth conditions which include a level (e.g., concentration) of nitrogen (e.g., ammonium or nitrate) applied which is below the level needed for normal plant metabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability.

Improved plant NUE and FUE is translated in the field into either harvesting similar quantities of yield, while implementing less fertilizers, or increased yields gained by implementing the same levels of fertilizers. Thus, improved NUE or FUE has a direct effect on plant yield in the field. Thus, the polynucleotides and polypeptides of some embodiments of the invention positively affect plant yield, seed yield, and plant biomass. In addition, the benefit of improved plant NUE will certainly improve crop quality and biochemical constituents of the seed such as protein yield and oil yield. It should be noted that improved ABST will confer plants with improved vigor also under non-stress conditions, resulting in crops having improved biomass and/or yield e.g., elongated fibers for the cotton industry, higher oil content.

The term “fiber” is usually inclusive of thick-walled conducting cells such as vessels and tracheids and to fibrillar aggregates of many individual fiber cells. Hence, the term “fiber” refers to (a) thick-walled conducting and non-conducting cells of the xylem; (b) fibers of extraxylary origin, including those from phloem, bark, ground tissue, and epidermis; and (c) fibers from stems, leaves, roots, seeds, and flowers or inflorescences (such as those of Sorghum vulgare used in the manufacture of brushes and brooms).

Example of fiber producing plants, include, but are not limited to, agricultural crops such as cotton, silk cotton tree (Kapok, Ceiba pentandra), desert willow, creosote bush, winterfat, balsa, kenaf, roselle, jute, sisal abaca, flax, corn, sugar cane, hemp, ramie, kapok, coir, bamboo, spanish moss and Agave spp. (e.g. sisal).

As used herein the phrase “fiber quality” refers to at least one fiber parameter which is agriculturally desired, or required in the fiber industry (further described hereinbelow). Examples of such parameters, include but are not limited to, fiber length, fiber strength, fiber fitness, fiber weight per unit length, maturity ratio and uniformity (further described hereinbelow).

Cotton fiber (lint) quality is typically measured according to fiber length, strength and fineness. Accordingly, the lint quality is considered higher when the fiber is longer, stronger and finer.

As used herein the phrase “fiber yield” refers to the amount or quantity of fibers produced from the fiber producing plant.

As used herein the term “increasing” refers to at least about 2%, at least about 3%, at least about 4%, at least about 5%, at least about 10%, at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 30%, at least about 40%, at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 80%, increase in yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant as compared to a native plant or a wild type plant [i.e., a plant not modified with the biomolecules (polynucleotide or polypeptides) of the invention, e.g., a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same (e.g., identical) growth conditions].

The phrase “expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide” as used herein refers to upregulating the expression level of an exogenous polynucleotide within the plant by introducing the exogenous polynucleotide into a plant cell or plant and expressing by recombinant means, as further described herein below.

As used herein “expressing” refers to expression at the mRNA and optionally polypeptide level.

As used herein, the phrase “exogenous polynucleotide” refers to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence which may not be naturally expressed within the plant (e.g., a nucleic acid sequence from a different species) or which overexpression in the plant is desired. The exogenous polynucleotide may be introduced into the plant in a stable or transient manner, so as to produce a ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule and/or a polypeptide molecule. It should be noted that the exogenous polynucleotide may comprise a nucleic acid sequence which is identical or partially homologous to an endogenous nucleic acid sequence of the plant.

The term “endogenous” as used herein refers to any polynucleotide or polypeptide which is present and/or naturally expressed within a plant or a cell thereof.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% homologous (e.g., identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722.

Homologous sequences include both orthologous and paralogous sequences. The term “paralogous” relates to gene-duplications within the genome of a species leading to paralogous genes. The term “orthologous” relates to homologous genes in different organisms due to ancestral relationship. Thus, orthologs are evolutionary counterparts derived from a single ancestral gene in the last common ancestor of given two species (Koonin E V and Galperin M Y (Sequence-Evolution-Function: Computational Approaches in Comparative Genomics. Boston: Kluwer Academic; 2003. Chapter 2, Evolutionary Concept in Genetics and Genomics. Available from: ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/books/NBK20255) and therefore have great likelihood of having the same function.

One option to identify orthologues in monocot plant species is by performing a reciprocal blast search. This may be done by a first blast involving blasting the sequence-of-interest against any sequence database, such as the publicly available NCBI database which may be found at: ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov. If orthologues in rice were sought, the sequence-of-interest would be blasted against, for example, the 28,469 full-length cDNA clones from Oryza sativa Nipponbare available at NCBI. The blast results may be filtered. The full-length sequences of either the filtered results or the non-filtered results are then blasted back (second blast) against the sequences of the organism from which the sequence-of-interest is derived. The results of the first and second blasts are then compared. An orthologue is identified when the sequence resulting in the highest score (best hit) in the first blast identifies in the second blast the query sequence (the original sequence-of-interest) as the best hit. Using the same rational a paralogue (homolog to a gene in the same organism) is found. In case of large sequence families, the ClustalW program may be used [ebi (dot) ac (dot) uk/Tools/clustalw2/index (dot) html], followed by a neighbor-joining tree (wikipedia (dot) org/wiki/Neighbor-joining) which helps visualizing the clustering.

Homology (e.g., percent homology, sequence identity+sequence similarity) can be determined using any homology comparison software computing a pairwise sequence alignment.

As used herein, “sequence identity” or “identity” in the context of two nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences includes reference to the residues in the two sequences which are the same when aligned. When percentage of sequence identity is used in reference to proteins it is recognized that residue positions which are not identical often differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, where amino acid residues are substituted for other amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g. charge or hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional properties of the molecule. Where sequences differ in conservative substitutions, the percent sequence identity may be adjusted upwards to correct for the conservative nature of the substitution. Sequences which differ by such conservative substitutions are considered to have “sequence similarity” or “similarity”. Means for making this adjustment are well-known to those of skill in the art. Typically this involves scoring a conservative substitution as a partial rather than a full mismatch, thereby increasing the percentage sequence identity. Thus, for example, where an identical amino acid is given a score of 1 and a non-conservative substitution is given a score of zero, a conservative substitution is given a score between zero and 1. The scoring of conservative substitutions is calculated, e.g., according to the algorithm of Henikoff S and Henikoff J G. [Amino acid substitution matrices from protein blocks. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1992, 89(22): 10915-9].

Identity (e.g., percent homology) can be determined using any homology comparison software, including for example, the BlastN software of the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) such as by using default parameters.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the identity is a global identity, i.e., an identity over the entire amino acid or nucleic acid sequences of the invention and not over portions thereof.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the term “homology” or “homologous” refers to identity of two or more nucleic acid sequences; or identity of two or more amino acid sequences; or the identity of an amino acid sequence to one or more nucleic acid sequence.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the homology is a global homology, i.e., an homology over the entire amino acid or nucleic acid sequences of the invention and not over portions thereof.

The degree of homology or identity between two or more sequences can be determined using various known sequence comparison tools. Following is a non-limiting description of such tools which can be used along with some embodiments of the invention.

Pairwise global alignment was defined by S. B. Needleman and C. D. Wunsch, “A general method applicable to the search of similarities in the amino acid sequence of two proteins” Journal of Molecular Biology, 1970, pages 443-53, volume 48).

For example, when starting from a polypeptide sequence and comparing to other polypeptide sequences, the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (available from emboss(dot)sourceforge(dot)net/apps/cvs/emboss/apps/needle(dot)html) can be used to find the optimum alignment (including gaps) of two sequences along their entire length—a “Global alignment”. Default parameters for Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (EMBOSS-6.0.1) include: gapopen=10; gapextend=0.5; datafile=EBLOSUM62; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the parameters used with the EMBOSS-6.0.1 tool (for protein-protein comparison) include: gapopen=8; gapextend=2; datafile=EBLOSUM62; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine homology using the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

When starting from a polypeptide sequence and comparing to polynucleotide sequences, the OneModel FramePlus algorithm [Halperin, E., Faigler, S. and Gill-More, R. (1999)—FramePlus: aligning DNA to protein sequences. Bioinformatics, 15, 867-873) (available from biocceleration(dot)com/Products(dot)html] can be used with following default parameters: model=frame+_p2n.model mode=local.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the parameters used with the OneModel FramePlus algorithm are model=frame+_p2n.model, mode=qglobal.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine homology using the OneModel FramePlus algorithm is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

When starting with a polynucleotide sequence and comparing to other polynucleotide sequences the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (available from emboss(dot) sourceforge(dot)net/apps/cvs/emboss/apps/needle(dot)html) can be used with the following default parameters: (EMBOSS-6.0.1) gapopen=10; gapextend=0.5; datafile=EDNAFULL; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the parameters used with the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm are gapopen=10; gapextend=0.2; datafile=EDNAFULL; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine homology using the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm for comparison of polynucleotides with polynucleotides is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

According to some embodiment, determination of the degree of homology further requires employing the Smith-Waterman algorithm (for protein-protein comparison or nucleotide-nucleotide comparison).

Default parameters for GenCore 6.0 Smith-Waterman algorithm include: model=sw.model.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine homology using the Smith-Waterman algorithm is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the global homology is performed on sequences which are pre-selected by local homology to the polypeptide or polynucleotide of interest (e.g., 60% identity over 60% of the sequence length), prior to performing the global homology to the polypeptide or polynucleotide of interest (e.g., 80% global homology on the entire sequence). For example, homologous sequences are selected using the BLAST software with the Blastp and tBlastn algorithms as filters for the first stage, and the needle (EMBOSS package) or Frame+ algorithm alignment for the second stage. Local identity (Blast alignments) is defined with a very permissive cutoff−60% Identity on a span of 60% of the sequences lengths because it is used only as a filter for the global alignment stage. In this specific embodiment (when the local identity is used), the default filtering of the Blast package is not utilized (by setting the parameter “−F F”).

In the second stage, homologs are defined based on a global identity of at least 80% to the core gene polypeptide sequence.

According to some embodiments of the invention, two distinct forms for finding the optimal global alignment for protein or nucleotide sequences are used:

1. Between Two Proteins (Following the Blastp Filter):

EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm with the following modified parameters: gapopen=8 gapextend=2. The rest of the parameters are unchanged from the default options listed here:

Standard (Mandatory) Qualifiers:

-   -   [-asequence] sequence Sequence filename and optional format, or         reference (input USA)     -   [-bsequence] seqall Sequence(s) filename and optional format, or         reference (input USA)

-gapopen float [10.0 for any sequence]. The gap open penalty is the score taken away when a gap is created. The best value depends on the choice of comparison matrix. The default value assumes you are using the EBLOSUM62 matrix for protein sequences, and the EDNAFULL matrix for nucleotide sequences. (Floating point number from 1.0 to 100.0)

-gapextend float [0.5 for any sequence]. The gap extension, penalty is added to the standard gap penalty for each base or residue in the gap. This is how long gaps are penalized. Usually you will expect a few long gaps rather than many short gaps, so the gap extension penalty should be lower than the gap penalty. An exception is where one or both sequences are single reads with possible sequencing errors in which case you would expect many single base gaps. You can get this result by setting the gap open penalty to zero (or very low) and using the gap extension penalty to control gap scoring. (Floating point number from 0.0 to 10.0)

-   -   [-outfile] align [*.needle] Output alignment file name

Additional (Optional) Qualifiers:

-datafile matrixf [EBLOSUM62 for protein, EDNAFULL for DNA]. This is the scoring matrix file used when comparing sequences. By default it is the file ‘EBLOSUM62’ (for proteins) or the file ‘EDNAFULL’ (for nucleic sequences). These files are found in the ‘data’ directory of the EMBOSS installation.

Advanced (Unprompted) Qualifiers:

-   -   -[no]brief boolean [Y] Brief identity and similarity

Associated Qualifiers:

“-asequence” associated qualifiers

-   -   -sbegin1 integer Start of the sequence to be used     -   -send1 integer End of the sequence to be used     -   -sreverse1 boolean Reverse (if DNA)     -   -sask1 boolean Ask for begin/end/reverse     -   -snucleotide1 boolean Sequence is nucleotide     -   -sprotein1 boolean Sequence is protein     -   -slower1 boolean Make lower case     -   -supper1 boolean Make upper case     -   -sformat1 string Input sequence format     -   -sdbname1 string Database name     -   -sid1 string Entryname     -   -ufo1 string UFO features     -   -fformat1 string Features format     -   -fopenfile1 string Features file name

“-bsequence” associated qualifiers

-   -   -sbegin2 integer Start of each sequence to be used     -   -send2 integer End of each sequence to be used     -   -sreverse2 boolean Reverse (if DNA)     -   -sask2 boolean Ask for begin/end/reverse     -   -snucleotide2 boolean Sequence is nucleotide     -   -sprotein2 boolean Sequence is protein     -   -slower2 boolean Make lower case     -   -supper2 boolean Make upper case     -   -sformat2 string Input sequence format     -   -sdbname2 string Database name     -   -sid2 string Entryname     -   -ufo2 string UFO features     -   -fformat2 string Features format     -   -fopenfile2 string Features file name

“-outfile” associated qualifiers

-   -   -aformat3 string Alignment format     -   -aextension3 string File name extension     -   -adirectory3 string Output directory     -   -aname3 string Base file name     -   -awidth3 integer Alignment width     -   -aaccshow3 boolean Show accession number in the header     -   -adesshow3 boolean Show description in the header     -   -ausashow3 boolean Show the full USA in the alignment     -   -aglobal3 boolean Show the full sequence in alignment

General Qualifiers:

-   -   -auto boolean Turn off prompts     -   -stdout boolean Write first file to standard output     -   filter boolean Read first file from standard input, write first         file to standard output     -   -options boolean Prompt for standard and additional values     -   -debug boolean Write debug output to program.dbg     -   -verbose boolean Report some/full command line options     -   -help boolean Report command line options. More information on         associated and general qualifiers can be found with -help         -verbose     -   -warning boolean Report warnings     -   -error boolean Report errors     -   -fatal boolean Report fatal errors     -   -die boolean Report dying program messages

2. Between a Protein Sequence and a Nucleotide Sequence (Following the Tblastn Filter):

GenCore 6.0 OneModel application utilizing the Frame+ algorithm with the following parameters: model=frame+_p2n.model mode=qglobal -q=protein.sequence -db=nucleotide.sequence. The rest of the parameters are unchanged from the default options:

Usage:

-   -   om -model=<model_fname>[-q=]query [-db=]database [options]     -   -model=<model_fname> Specifies the model that you want to run.         All models supplied by Compugen are located in the directory         $CGNROOT/models/.

Valid Command Line Parameters:

-   -   -dev=<dev_name> Selects the device to be used by the         application.

Valid Devices are:

-   -   bic—Bioccelerator (valid for SW, XSW, FRAME_N2P, and FRAME_P2N         models).     -   xlg—BioXL/G (valid for all models except XSW).     -   xlp—BioXL/P (valid for SW, FRAME+_N2P, and FRAME_P2N models).     -   xlh—BioXL/H (valid for SW, FRAME+_N2P, and FRAME_P2N models).     -   soft—Software device (for all models).         -q=<query> Defines the query set. The query can be a sequence         file or a database reference. You can specify a query by its         name or by accession number. The format is detected         automatically. However, you may specify a format using the -qfmt         parameter. If you do not specify a query, the program prompts         for one. If the query set is a database reference, an output         file is produced for each sequence in the query.         -db=<database name> Chooses the database set. The database set         can be a sequence file or a database reference. The database         format is detected automatically. However, you may specify a         format using -dfmt parameter.         -qacc Add this parameter to the command line if you specify         query using accession numbers.         -dacc Add this parameter to the command line if you specify a         database using accession numbers.         -dfmt/-qfmt=<format_type> Chooses the database/query format         type. Possible formats are:     -   fasta—fasta with seq type auto-detected.     -   fastap—fasta protein seq.     -   fastan—fasta nucleic seq.     -   gcg—gcg format, type is auto-detected.     -   gcg9seq—gcg9 format, type is auto-detected.     -   gcg9seqp—gcg9 format protein seq.     -   gcg9seqn—gcg9 format nucleic seq.     -   nbrf—nbrf seq, type is auto-detected.     -   nbrfp—nbrf protein seq.     -   nbrfn—nbrf nucleic seq.     -   embl—embl and swissprot format.     -   genbank—genbank format (nucleic).     -   blast—blast format.     -   nbrf_gcg—nbrf-gcg seq, type is auto-detected.     -   nbrf_gcgp—nbrf-gcg protein seq.     -   nbrf_gcgn—nbrf-gcg nucleic seq.     -   raw—raw ascii sequence, type is auto-detected.     -   rawp—raw ascii protein sequence.     -   rawn—raw ascii nucleic sequence.     -   pir—pir codata format, type is auto-detected.     -   profile—gcg profile (valid only for -qfmt     -   in SW, XSW, FRAME_P2N, and FRAME+_P2N).         -out=<out_fname> The name of the output file.         -suffix=<name> The output file name suffix.         -gapop=<n>Gap open penalty. This parameter is not valid for         FRAME+. For FrameSearch the default is 12.0. For other searches         the default is 10.0.         -gapext=<n>Gap extend penalty. This parameter is not valid for         FRAME+. For FrameSearch the default is 4.0. For other models:         the default for protein searches is 0.05, and the default for         nucleic searches is 1.0.         -qgapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap in the query sequence.         The default is 10.0. Valid for XSW.         -qgapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap in the query         sequence. The default is 0.05. Valid for XSW.         -start=<n> The position in the query sequence to begin the         search.         -end=<n> The position in the query sequence to stop the search.         qtrans Performs a translated search, relevant for a nucleic         query against a protein database. The nucleic query is         translated to six reading frames and a result is given for each         frame.

Valid for SW and XSW.

-dtrans Performs a translated search, relevant for a protein query against a DNA database. Each database entry is translated to six reading frames and a result is given for each frame.

Valid for SW and XSW.

Note: “-qtrans” and “-dtrans” options are mutually exclusive. -matrix=<matrix_file> Specifies the comparison matrix to be used in the search. The matrix must be in the BLAST format. If the matrix file is not located in $CGNROOT/tables/matrix, specify the full path as the value of the -matrix parameter. -trans=<transtab_name>Translation table. The default location for the table is $CGNROOT/tables/trans. -onestrand Restricts the search to just the top strand of the query/database nucleic sequence. -list=<n> The maximum size of the output hit list. The default is 50. docalign=<n> The number of documentation lines preceding each alignment. The default is 10. -thr_score=<score_name> The score that places limits on the display of results. Scores that are smaller than -thr_min value or larger than -thr_max value are not shown. Valid options are: quality.

-   -   zscore.     -   escore.         -thr_max=<n> The score upper threshold. Results that are larger         than -thr_max value are not shown.         -thr_min=<n> The score lower threshold. Results that are lower         than -thr_min value are not shown.         -align=<n> The number of alignments reported in the output file.         -noalign Do not display alignment.         Note: “-align” and “-noalign” parameters are mutually exclusive.         -outfmt=dormat_name> Specifies the output format type. The         default format is PFS.

Possible Values are:

-   -   PFS—PFS text format     -   FASTA—FASTA text format     -   BLAST—BLAST text format         -nonorm Do not perform score normalization.         -norm=<norm_name> Specifies the normalization method. Valid         options are:     -   log—logarithm normalization.     -   std—standard normalization.     -   stat—Pearson statistical method.         Note: “-nonorm” and “-norm” parameters cannot be used together.         Note: Parameters -xgapop, -xgapext, -fgapop, -fgapext, -ygapop,         -ygapext, -delop, and -delext apply only to FRAME+.         -xgapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when inserting a codon         (triplet). The default is 12.0.         -xgapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when inserting a         codon (triplet). The default is 4.0.         -ygapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when deleting an amino         acid. The default is 12.0.         -ygapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when deleting an         amino acid. The default is 4.0.         -fgapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when inserting a DNA         base. The default is 6.0.         -fgapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when inserting a         DNA base. The default is 7.0.         -delop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when deleting a DNA         base. The default is 6.0.         -delext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when deleting a DNA         base. The default is 7.0.         -silent No screen output is produced.         -host=<host_name> The name of the host on which the server runs.         By default, the application uses the host specified in the file         $CGNROOT/cgnhosts.         -wait Do not go to the background when the device is busy. This         option is not relevant for the Parseq or Soft pseudo device.         -batch Run the job in the background. When this option is         specified, the file “$CGNROOT/defaults/batch.defaults” is used         for choosing the batch command. If this file does not exist, the         command “at now” is used to run the job.         Note: “-batch” and “-wait” parameters are mutually exclusive.         -version Prints the software version number.         -help Displays this help message. To get more specific help         type:

“om -model=<model_fname>-help”.

According to some embodiments the homology is a local homology or a local identity.

Local alignments tools include, but are not limited to the BlastP, BlastN, BlastX or TBLASTN software of the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), FASTA, and the Smith-Waterman algorithm.

A tblastn search allows the comparison between a protein sequence to the six-frame translations of a nucleotide database. It can be a very productive way of finding homologous protein coding regions in unannotated nucleotide sequences such as expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and draft genome records (HTG), located in the BLAST databases est and htgs, respectively.

Default parameters for blastp include: Max target sequences: 100; Expected threshold: e⁻⁵; Word size: 3; Max matches in a query range: 0; Scoring parameters: Matrix—BLOSUM62; filters and masking: Filter—low complexity regions.

Local alignments tools, which can be used include, but are not limited to, the tBLASTX algorithm, which compares the six-frame conceptual translation products of a nucleotide query sequence (both strands) against a protein sequence database. Default parameters include: Max target sequences: 100; Expected threshold: 10; Word size: 3; Max matches in a query range: 0; Scoring parameters: Matrix—BLOSUM62; filters and masking: Filter—low complexity regions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention encodes a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention encodes a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method of increasing yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, is effected by expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722, thereby increasing the yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide consisting of the amino acid sequence set forth by SEQ ID NO: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, 15451-15725 or 15726.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, the method of increasing yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, is effected by expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726, thereby increasing the yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method of increasing yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726, thereby increasing the yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide consisting of the amino acid sequence set forth by SEQ ID NO: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, 15451-15725 or 15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid sequence which is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method of increasing yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271, thereby increasing the yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, 8686-9274 or 9275.

According to some embodiments of the invention the method of increasing yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant further comprising selecting a plant having an increased yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

It should be noted that selecting a transformed plant having an increased trait as compared to a native (or non-transformed) plant grown under the same growth conditions can be performed by selecting for the trait, e.g., validating the ability of the transformed plant to exhibit the increased trait using well known assays (e.g., seedling analyses, greenhouse assays) as is further described herein below.

According to some embodiments of the invention selecting is performed under non-stress conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention selecting is performed under abiotic stress conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention selecting is performed under nitrogen limiting conditions.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method of selecting a transformed plant having increased yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, the method comprising:

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% homologous (e.g., having sequence similarity or sequence identity) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722,

(b) selecting from the plants of step (a) a plant having increased yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency (e.g., by selecting the plants for the increased trait),

thereby selecting the plant having increased yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method of selecting a transformed plant having increased yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, the method comprising:

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271,

(b) selecting from the plants of step (a) a plant having increased yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency,

thereby selecting the plant having increased yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

As used herein the term “polynucleotide” refers to a single or double stranded nucleic acid sequence which is isolated and provided in the form of an RNA sequence, a complementary polynucleotide sequence (cDNA), a genomic polynucleotide sequence and/or a composite polynucleotide sequences (e.g., a combination of the above).

The term “isolated” refers to at least partially separated from the natural environment e.g., from a plant cell.

As used herein the phrase “complementary polynucleotide sequence” refers to a sequence, which results from reverse transcription of messenger RNA using a reverse transcriptase or any other RNA dependent DNA polymerase. Such a sequence can be subsequently amplified in vivo or in vitro using a DNA dependent DNA polymerase.

As used herein the phrase “genomic polynucleotide sequence” refers to a sequence derived (isolated) from a chromosome and thus it represents a contiguous portion of a chromosome.

As used herein the phrase “composite polynucleotide sequence” refers to a sequence, which is at least partially complementary and at least partially genomic. A composite sequence can include some exonal sequences required to encode the polypeptide of the present invention, as well as some intronic sequences interposing therebetween. The intronic sequences can be of any source, including of other genes, and typically will include conserved splicing signal sequences. Such intronic sequences may further include cis acting expression regulatory elements.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding the polypeptides of the present invention may be optimized for expression. Examples of such sequence modifications include, but are not limited to, an altered G/C content to more closely approach that typically found in the plant species of interest, and the removal of codons atypically found in the plant species commonly referred to as codon optimization.

The phrase “codon optimization” refers to the selection of appropriate DNA nucleotides for use within a structural gene or fragment thereof that approaches codon usage within the plant of interest. Therefore, an optimized gene or nucleic acid sequence refers to a gene in which the nucleotide sequence of a native or naturally occurring gene has been modified in order to utilize statistically-preferred or statistically-favored codons within the plant. The nucleotide sequence typically is examined at the DNA level and the coding region optimized for expression in the plant species determined using any suitable procedure, for example as described in Sardana et al. (1996, Plant Cell Reports 15:677-681). In this method, the standard deviation of codon usage, a measure of codon usage bias, may be calculated by first finding the squared proportional deviation of usage of each codon of the native gene relative to that of highly expressed plant genes, followed by a calculation of the average squared deviation. The formula used is: 1 SDCU=n=1 N [(Xn−Yn)/Yn]2/N, where Xn refers to the frequency of usage of codon n in highly expressed plant genes, where Yn to the frequency of usage of codon n in the gene of interest and N refers to the total number of codons in the gene of interest. A Table of codon usage from highly expressed genes of dicotyledonous plants is compiled using the data of Murray et al. (1989, Nuc Acids Res. 17:477-498).

One method of optimizing the nucleic acid sequence in accordance with the preferred codon usage for a particular plant cell type is based on the direct use, without performing any extra statistical calculations, of codon optimization Tables such as those provided on-line at the Codon Usage Database through the NIAS (National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences) DNA bank in Japan (kazusa (dot) or (dot) jp/codon/). The Codon Usage Database contains codon usage tables for a number of different species, with each codon usage Table having been statistically determined based on the data present in Genbank.

By using the above Tables to determine the most preferred or most favored codons for each amino acid in a particular species (for example, rice), a naturally-occurring nucleotide sequence encoding a protein of interest can be codon optimized for that particular plant species. This is effected by replacing codons that may have a low statistical incidence in the particular species genome with corresponding codons, in regard to an amino acid, that are statistically more favored. However, one or more less-favored codons may be selected to delete existing restriction sites, to create new ones at potentially useful junctions (5′ and 3′ ends to add signal peptide or termination cassettes, internal sites that might be used to cut and splice segments together to produce a correct full-length sequence), or to eliminate nucleotide sequences that may negatively effect mRNA stability or expression.

The naturally-occurring encoding nucleotide sequence may already, in advance of any modification, contain a number of codons that correspond to a statistically-favored codon in a particular plant species. Therefore, codon optimization of the native nucleotide sequence may comprise determining which codons, within the native nucleotide sequence, are not statistically-favored with regards to a particular plant, and modifying these codons in accordance with a codon usage table of the particular plant to produce a codon optimized derivative. A modified nucleotide sequence may be fully or partially optimized for plant codon usage provided that the protein encoded by the modified nucleotide sequence is produced at a level higher than the protein encoded by the corresponding naturally occurring or native gene. Construction of synthetic genes by altering the codon usage is described in for example PCT Patent Application 93/07278.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide is a non-coding RNA.

As used herein the phrase ‘non-coding RNA” refers to an RNA molecule which does not encode an amino acid sequence (a polypeptide). Examples of such non-coding RNA molecules include, but are not limited to, an antisense RNA, a pre-miRNA (precursor of a microRNA), or a precursor of a Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA).

Non-limiting examples of non-coding RNA polynucleotides are provided in SEQ ID NOs: 1810, 3292, 3297-3302, 4172, 4177, 4180-4183, 4185-4189, 4193-4207, 4216-4235, 4245-4257, 4265-4283, 4285-4290, 4292-4311, 4320-4324, 4327-4328, 4331-4334, 4337-4341, 4348-4360, 4363-4371, 4373-4378, 4381, 4383-4391, 4393-4394, 4396, 4398-4404, 4406, 4408-4410, 4413-4417, 4419-4421, 4424-4431, 4677, 4702, 4887, 5003-5004, 5107, 5277, 5354, 5676, 5697, 5714, 6024, 6031, 6565-6566, 6958, 7117, 8233, 8263, and 8667.

Thus, the invention encompasses nucleic acid sequences described hereinabove; fragments thereof, sequences hybridizable therewith, sequences homologous thereto, sequences encoding similar polypeptides with different codon usage, altered sequences characterized by mutations, such as deletion, insertion or substitution of one or more nucleotides, either naturally occurring or man induced, either randomly or in a targeted fashion.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of a naturally occurring plant orthologue of the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of a naturally occurring plant orthologue of the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271.

According to some embodiments of the invention the nucleic acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency and/or water use efficiency of a plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the isolated polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.

According to some embodiments of the invention the isolated polynucleotide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, 8686-9274 or 9275.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722.

According to some embodiments of the invention the amino acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency and/or water use efficiency of a plant.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a nucleic acid construct comprising the isolated polynucleotide of the invention, and a promoter for directing transcription of the nucleic acid sequence in a host cell.

The invention provides an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% homologous to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, 15451-15725 or 15726.

The invention also encompasses fragments of the above described polypeptides and polypeptides having mutations, such as deletions, insertions or substitutions of one or more amino acids, either naturally occurring or man induced, either randomly or in a targeted fashion.

The term “plant” as used herein encompasses a whole plant, a grafted plant, ancestor(s) and progeny of the plants and plant parts, including seeds, shoots, stems, roots (including tubers), rootstock, scion, and plant cells, tissues and organs. The plant may be in any form including suspension cultures, embryos, meristematic regions, callus tissue, leaves, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, and microspores. Plants that are particularly useful in the methods of the invention include all plants which belong to the superfamily Viridiplantae, in particular monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants including a fodder or forage legume, ornamental plant, food crop, tree, or shrub selected from the list comprising Acacia spp., Acer spp., Actinidia spp., Aesculus spp., Agathis australis, Albizia amara, Alsophila tricolor, Andropogon spp., Arachis spp, Areca catechu, Astelia fragrans, Astragalus cicer, Baikiaea plurijuga, Betula spp., Brassica spp., Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Burkea africana, Butea frondosa, Cadaba farinosa, Calliandra spp, Camellia sinensis, Canna indica, Capsicum spp., Cassia spp., Centroema pubescens, Chacoomeles spp., Cinnamomum cassia, Coffea arabica, Colophospermum mopane, Coronillia varia, Cotoneaster serotina, Crataegus spp., Cucumis spp., Cupressus spp., Cyathea dealbata, Cydonia oblonga, Cryptomeria japonica, Cymbopogon spp., Cynthea dealbata, Cydonia oblonga, Dalbergia monetaria, Davallia divaricata, Desmodium spp., Dicksonia squarosa, Dibeteropogon amplectens, Dioclea spp, Dolichos spp., Dorycnium rectum, Echinochloa pyramidalis, Ehraffia spp., Eleusine coracana, Eragrestis spp., Erythrina spp., Eucalypfus spp., Euclea schimperi, Eulalia vi/losa, Pagopyrum spp., Feijoa sellowlana, Fragaria spp., Flemingia spp, Freycinetia banksli, Geranium thunbergii, GinAgo biloba, Glycine javanica, Gliricidia spp, Gossypium hirsutum, Grevillea spp., Guibourtia coleosperma, Hedysarum spp., Hemaffhia altissima, Heteropogon contoffus, Hordeum vulgare, Hyparrhenia rufa, Hypericum erectum, Hypeffhelia dissolute, Indigo incamata, Iris spp., Leptarrhena pyrolifolia, Lespediza spp., Lettuca spp., Leucaena leucocephala, Loudetia simplex, Lotonus bainesli, Lotus spp., Macrotyloma axillare, Malus spp., Manihot esculenta, Medicago saliva, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Musa sapientum, Nicotianum spp., Onobrychis spp., Ornithopus spp., Oryza spp., Peltophorum africanum, Pennisetum spp., Persea gratissima, Petunia spp., Phaseolus spp., Phoenix canariensis, Phormium cookianum, Photinia spp., Picea glauca, Pinus spp., Pisum sativam, Podocarpus totara, Pogonarthria fleckii, Pogonaffhria squarrosa, Populus spp., Prosopis cineraria, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pterolobium stellatum, Pyrus communis, Quercus spp., Rhaphiolepsis umbellata, Rhopalostylis sapida, Rhus natalensis, Ribes grossularia, Ribes spp., Robinia pseudoacacia, Rosa spp., Rubus spp., Salix spp., Schyzachyrium sanguineum, Sciadopitys vefficillata, Sequoia sempervirens, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sorghum bicolor, Spinacia spp., Sporobolus fimbriatus, Stiburus alopecuroides, Stylosanthos humilis, Tadehagi spp, Taxodium distichum, Themeda triandra, Trifolium spp., Triticum spp., Tsuga heterophylla, Vaccinium spp., Vicia spp., Vitis vinifera, Watsonia pyramidata, Zantedeschia aethiopica, Zea mays, amaranth, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, canola, carrot, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, flax, kale, lentil, oilseed rape, okra, onion, potato, rice, soybean, straw, sugar beet, sugar cane, sunflower, tomato, squash tea, maize, wheat, barley, rye, oat, peanut, pea, lentil and alfalfa, cotton, rapeseed, canola, pepper, sunflower, tobacco, eggplant, eucalyptus, a tree, an ornamental plant, a perennial grass and a forage crop. Alternatively algae and other non-Viridiplantae can be used for the methods of the present invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant used by the method of the invention is a crop plant such as rice, maize, wheat, barley, peanut, potato, sesame, olive tree, palm oil, banana, soybean, sunflower, canola, sugarcane, alfalfa, millet, leguminosae (bean, pea), flax, lupinus, rapeseed, tobacco, poplar and cotton.

According to some embodiments of the invention the plant is a dicotyledonous plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the plant is a monocotyledonous plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention and/or the polypeptide of some embodiments of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, expressing the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention within the plant is effected by transforming one or more cells of the plant with the exogenous polynucleotide, followed by generating a mature plant from the transformed cells and cultivating the mature plant under conditions suitable for expressing the exogenous polynucleotide within the mature plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the transformation is effected by introducing to the plant cell a nucleic acid construct which includes the exogenous polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention and at least one promoter for directing transcription of the exogenous polynucleotide in a host cell (a plant cell). Further details of suitable transformation approaches are provided hereinbelow.

As mentioned, the nucleic acid construct according to some embodiments of the invention comprises a promoter sequence and the isolated polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the isolated polynucleotide is operably linked to the promoter sequence.

A coding nucleic acid sequence is “operably linked” to a regulatory sequence (e.g., promoter) if the regulatory sequence is capable of exerting a regulatory effect on the coding sequence linked thereto.

As used herein, the term “promoter” refers to a region of DNA which lies upstream of the transcriptional initiation site of a gene to which RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription of RNA. The promoter controls where (e.g., which portion of a plant) and/or when (e.g., at which stage or condition in the lifetime of an organism) the gene is expressed.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the promoter is heterologous to the isolated polynucleotide and/or to the host cell.

As used herein the phrase “heterologous promoter” refers to a promoter from a different species or from the same species but from a different gene locus as of the isolated polynucleotide sequence.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the isolated polynucleotide is heterologous to the plant cell (e.g., the polynucleotide is derived from a different plant species when compared to the plant cell, thus the isolated polynucleotide and the plant cell are not from the same plant species).

Any suitable promoter sequence can be used by the nucleic acid construct of the present invention. Preferably the promoter is a constitutive promoter, a tissue-specific, or an abiotic stress-inducible promoter.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the promoter is a plant promoter, which is suitable for expression of the exogenous polynucleotide in a plant cell.

Suitable promoters for expression in wheat include, but are not limited to, Wheat SPA promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15727; Albani et al, Plant Cell, 9: 171-184, 1997, which is fully incorporated herein by reference), wheat LMW (SEQ ID NO: 15728 (longer LMW promoter), and SEQ ID NO: 15729 (LMW promoter) and HMW glutenin-1 (SEQ ID NO: 15730 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 longer promoter); and SEQ ID NO: 15731 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 Promoter); Thomas and Flavell, The Plant Cell 2:1171-1180; Furtado et al., 2009 Plant Biotechnology Journal 7:240-253, each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference), wheat alpha, beta and gamma gliadins [e.g., SEQ ID NO: 15732 (wheat alpha gliadin, B genome, promoter); SEQ ID NO: 15733 (wheat gamma gliadin promoter); EMBO 3:1409-15, 1984, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], wheat TdPR60 [SEQ ID NO: 15734 (wheat TdPR60 longer promoter) or SEQ ID NO: 15735 (wheat TdPR60 promoter); Kovalchuk et al., Plant Mol Biol 71:81-98, 2009, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], maize Ub1 Promoter [cultivar Nongda 105 (SEQ ID NO: 15736); GenBank: DQ141598.1; Taylor et al., Plant Cell Rep 1993 12: 491-495, which is fully incorporated herein by reference; and cultivar B73 (SEQ ID NO: 15737); Christensen, A H, et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 18 (4), 675-689 (1992), which is fully incorporated herein by reference]; rice actin 1 (SEQ ID NO: 15738; Mc Elroy et al. 1990, The Plant Cell, Vol. 2, 163-171, which is fully incorporated herein by reference), rice GOS2 [SEQ ID NO: 15739 (rice GOS2 longer promoter) and SEQ ID NO: 15740 (rice GOS2 Promoter); De Pater et al. Plant J. 1992; 2: 837-44, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], arabidopsis Pho1 [SEQ ID NO: 15741 (arabidopsis Pho1 Promoter); Hamburger et al., Plant Cell. 2002; 14: 889-902, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], ExpansinB promoters, e.g., rice ExpB5 [SEQ ID NO: 15742 (rice ExpB5 longer promoter) and SEQ ID NO: 15743 (rice ExpB5 promoter)] and Barley ExpB1 [SEQ ID NO: 15744 (barley ExpB1 Promoter), Won et al. Mol Cells. 2010; 30:369-76, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], barley SS2 (sucrose synthase 2) [(SEQ ID NO: 15745), Guerin and Carbonero, Plant Physiology May 1997 vol. 114 no. 1 55-62, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], and rice PG5a [SEQ ID NO: 15746, U.S. Pat. No. 7,700,835, Nakase et al., Plant Mol Biol. 32:621-30, 1996, each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference].

Suitable constitutive promoters include, for example, CaMV 35S promoter [SEQ ID NO: 15747 (CaMV 35S (QFNC) Promoter); SEQ ID NO: 15748 (PJJ 35S from Brachypodium); SEQ ID NO: 15749 (CaMV 35S (OLD) Promoter) (Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812, 1985)], Arabidopsis At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15750 (Arabidopsis At6669 (OLD) Promoter); see PCT Publication No. WO04081173A2 or the new At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15751 (Arabidopsis At6669 (NEW) Promoter)); maize Ub1 Promoter [cultivar Nongda 105 (SEQ ID NO: 15736); GenBank: DQ141598.1; Taylor et al., Plant Cell Rep 1993 12: 491-495, which is fully incorporated herein by reference; and cultivar B73 (SEQ ID NO: 15737); Christensen, A H, et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 18 (4), 675-689 (1992), which is fully incorporated herein by reference]; rice actin 1 (SEQ ID NO: 15738, McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2:163-171, 1990); pEMU (Last et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:581-588, 1991); CaMV 19S (Nilsson et al., Physiol. Plant 100:456-462, 1997); rice GOS2 [SEQ ID NO: 15739 (rice GOS2 longer Promoter) and SEQ ID NO: 15740 (rice GOS2 Promoter), de Pater et al, Plant J November; 2(6):837-44, 1992]; RBCS promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15752); Rice cyclophilin (Bucholz et al, Plant Mol Biol. 25(5):837-43, 1994); Maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al, Mol. Gen. Genet. 231: 276-285, 1992); Actin 2 (An et al, Plant J. 10(1); 107-121, 1996) and Synthetic Super MAS (Ni et al., The Plant Journal 7: 661-76, 1995). Other constitutive promoters include those in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,659,026, 5,608,149; 5,608,144; 5,604,121; 5,569,597: 5,466,785; 5,399,680; 5,268,463; and 5,608,142.

Suitable tissue-specific promoters include, but not limited to, leaf-specific promoters [e.g., AT5G06690 (Thioredoxin) (high expression, SEQ ID NO: 15753), AT5G61520 (AtSTP3) (low expression, SEQ ID NO: 15754) described in Buttner et al 2000 Plant, Cell and Environment 23, 175-184, or the promoters described in Yamamoto et al., Plant J. 12:255-265, 1997; Kwon et al., Plant Physiol. 105:357-67, 1994; Yamamoto et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 35:773-778, 1994; Gotor et al., Plant J. 3:509-18, 1993; Orozco et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 23:1129-1138, 1993; and Matsuoka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:9586-9590, 1993; as well as Arabidopsis STP3 (AT5G61520) promoter (Buttner et al., Plant, Cell and Environment 23:175-184, 2000)], seed-preferred promoters [e.g., Napin (originated from Brassica napus which is characterized by a seed specific promoter activity; Stuitje A. R. et. al. Plant Biotechnology Journal 1 (4): 301-309; SEQ ID NO: 15755 (Brassica napus NAPIN Promoter) from seed specific genes (Simon, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 5. 191, 1985; Scofield, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 262: 12202, 1987; Baszczynski, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 14: 633, 1990), rice PG5a (SEQ ID NO: 15746; U.S. Pat. No. 7,700,835), early seed development Arabidopsis BAN (AT1G61720) (SEQ ID NO: 15756, US 2009/0031450 A1), late seed development Arabidopsis ABI3 (AT3G24650) (SEQ ID NO: 15757 (Arabidopsis ABI3 (AT3G24650) longer Promoter) or SEQ ID NO:15758 (Arabidopsis ABI3 (AT3G24650) Promoter)) (Ng et al., Plant Molecular Biology 54: 25-38, 2004), Brazil Nut albumin (Pearson' et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18: 235-245, 1992), legumin (Ellis, et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 10: 203-214, 1988), Glutelin (rice) (Takaiwa, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 208: 15-22, 1986; Takaiwa, et al., FEBS Letts. 221: 43-47, 1987), Zein (Matzke et al Plant Mol Biol, 143). 323-32 1990), napA (Stalberg, et al, Planta 199: 515-519, 1996), Wheat SPA (SEQ ID NO: 15727; Albani et al, Plant Cell, 9: 171-184, 1997), sunflower oleosin (Cummins, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 19: 873-876, 1992)], endosperm specific promoters [e.g., wheat LMW (SEQ ID NO: 15728 (Wheat LMW Longer Promoter), and SEQ ID NO: 15729 (Wheat LMW Promoter) and HMW glutenin-1 [(SEQ ID NO: 15730 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 longer Promoter)); and SEQ ID NO: 15731 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 Promoter), Thomas and Flavell, The Plant Cell 2:1171-1180, 1990; Mol Gen Genet 216:81-90, 1989; NAR 17:461-2), wheat alpha, beta and gamma gliadins (SEQ ID NO: 15732 (wheat alpha gliadin (B genome) promoter); SEQ ID NO: 15733 (wheat gamma gliadin promoter); EMBO 3:1409-15, 1984), Barley ltrl promoter, barley B1, C, D hordein (Theor Appl Gen 98:1253-62, 1999; Plant J 4:343-55, 1993; Mol Gen Genet 250:750-60, 1996), Barley DOF (Mena et al, The Plant Journal, 116(1): 53-62, 1998), Biz2 (EP99106056.7), Barley SS2 (SEQ ID NO: 15745 (Barley SS2 Promoter); Guerin and Carbonero Plant Physiology 114: 1 55-62, 1997), wheat Tarp60 (Kovalchuk et al., Plant Mol Biol 71:81-98, 2009), barley D-hordein (D-Hor) and B-hordein (B-Hor) (Agnelo Furtado, Robert J. Henry and Alessandro Pellegrineschi (2009)], Synthetic promoter (Vicente-Carbajosa et al., Plant J. 13: 629-640, 1998), rice prolamin NRP33, rice -globulin Glb-1 (Wu et al, Plant Cell Physiology 39(8) 885-889, 1998), rice alpha-globulin REB/OHP-1 (Nakase et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 33: 513-S22, 1997), rice ADP-glucose PP (Trans Res 6:157-68, 1997), maize ESR gene family (Plant J 12:235-46, 1997), sorgum gamma-kafirin (PMB 32:1029-35, 1996)], embryo specific promoters [e.g., rice OSH1 (Sato et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 8117-8122), KNOX (Postma-Haarsma et al, Plant Mol. Biol. 39:257-71, 1999), rice oleosin (Wu et at, J. Biochem., 123:386, 1998)], and flower-specific promoters [e.g., AtPRP4, chalene synthase (chsA) (Van der Meer, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 15, 95-109, 1990), LAT52 (Twell et al Mol. Gen Genet. 217:240-245; 1989), Arabidopsis apetala-3 (Tilly et al., Development. 125:1647-57, 1998), Arabidopsis APETALA 1 (AT1G69120, AP1) (SEQ ID NO: 15759 (Arabidopsis (AT1G69120) APETALA 1)) (Hempel et al., Development 124:3845-3853, 1997)], and root promoters [e.g., the ROOTP promoter [SEQ ID NO: 15760]; rice ExpB5 (SEQ ID NO: 15743 (rice ExpB5 Promoter); or SEQ ID NO: 15742 (rice ExpB5 longer Promoter)) and barley ExpB1 promoters (SEQ ID NO: 15744) (Won et al. Mol. Cells 30: 369-376, 2010); arabidopsis ATTPS-CIN (AT3G25820) promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15761; Chen et al., Plant Phys 135:1956-66, 2004); arabidopsis Pho1 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15741, Hamburger et al., Plant Cell. 14: 889-902, 2002), which is also slightly induced by stress].

Suitable abiotic stress-inducible promoters include, but not limited to, salt-inducible promoters such as RD29A (Yamaguchi-Shinozalei et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 236:331-340, 1993); drought-inducible promoters such as maize rab17 gene promoter (Pla et. al., Plant Mol. Biol. 21:259-266, 1993), maize rab28 gene promoter (Busk et. al., Plant J. 11:1285-1295, 1997) and maize Ivr2 gene promoter (Pelleschi et. al., Plant Mol. Biol. 39:373-380, 1999); heat-inducible promoters such as heat tomato hsp80-promoter from tomato (U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,267).

The nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention can further include an appropriate selectable marker and/or an origin of replication. According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid construct utilized is a shuttle vector, which can propagate both in E. coli (wherein the construct comprises an appropriate selectable marker and origin of replication) and be compatible with propagation in cells. The construct according to the present invention can be, for example, a plasmid, a bacmid, a phagemid, a cosmid, a phage, a virus or an artificial chromosome.

The nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention can be utilized to stably or transiently transform plant cells. In stable transformation, the exogenous polynucleotide is integrated into the plant genome and as such it represents a stable and inherited trait. In transient transformation, the exogenous polynucleotide is expressed by the cell transformed but it is not integrated into the genome and as such it represents a transient trait.

There are various methods of introducing foreign genes into both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants (Potrykus, I., Annu. Rev. Plant. Physiol., Plant. Mol. Biol. (1991) 42:205-225; Shimamoto et al., Nature (1989) 338:274-276).

The principle methods of causing stable integration of exogenous DNA into plant genomic DNA include two main approaches:

(i) Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer: Klee et al. (1987) Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 38:467-486; Klee and Rogers in Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics of Plants, Vol. 6, Molecular Biology of Plant Nuclear Genes, eds. Schell, J., and Vasil, L. K., Academic Publishers, San Diego, Calif. (1989) p. 2-25; Gatenby, in Plant Biotechnology, eds. Kung, S. and Arntzen, C. J., Butterworth Publishers, Boston, Mass. (1989) p. 93-112.

(ii) Direct DNA uptake: Paszkowski et al., in Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics of Plants, Vol. 6, Molecular Biology of Plant Nuclear Genes eds. Schell, J., and Vasil, L. K., Academic Publishers, San Diego, Calif. (1989) p. 52-68; including methods for direct uptake of DNA into protoplasts, Toriyama, K. et al. (1988) Bio/Technology 6:1072-1074. DNA uptake induced by brief electric shock of plant cells: Zhang et al. Plant Cell Rep. (1988) 7:379-384. Fromm et al. Nature (1986) 319:791-793. DNA injection into plant cells or tissues by particle bombardment, Klein et al. Bio/Technology (1988) 6:559-563; McCabe et al. Bio/Technology (1988) 6:923-926; Sanford, Physiol. Plant. (1990) 79:206-209; by the use of micropipette systems: Neuhaus et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. (1987) 75:30-36; Neuhaus and Spangenberg, Physiol. Plant. (1990) 79:213-217; glass fibers or silicon carbide whisker transformation of cell cultures, embryos or callus tissue, U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,765 or by the direct incubation of DNA with germinating pollen, DeWet et al. in Experimental Manipulation of Ovule Tissue, eds. Chapman, G. P. and Mantell, S. H. and Daniels, W. Longman, London, (1985) p. 197-209; and Ohta, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1986) 83:715-719.

The Agrobacterium system includes the use of plasmid vectors that contain defined DNA segments that integrate into the plant genomic DNA. Methods of inoculation of the plant tissue vary depending upon the plant species and the Agrobacterium delivery system. A widely used approach is the leaf disc procedure which can be performed with any tissue explant that provides a good source for initiation of whole plant differentiation. See, e.g., Horsch et al. in Plant Molecular Biology Manual A5, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (1988) p. 1-9. A supplementary approach employs the Agrobacterium delivery system in combination with vacuum infiltration. The Agrobacterium system is especially viable in the creation of transgenic dicotyledonous plants.

There are various methods of direct DNA transfer into plant cells. In electroporation, the protoplasts are briefly exposed to a strong electric field. In microinjection, the DNA is mechanically injected directly into the cells using very small micropipettes. In microparticle bombardment, the DNA is adsorbed on microprojectiles such as magnesium sulfate crystals or tungsten particles, and the microprojectiles are physically accelerated into cells or plant tissues.

Following stable transformation plant propagation is exercised. The most common method of plant propagation is by seed. Regeneration by seed propagation, however, has the deficiency that due to heterozygosity there is a lack of uniformity in the crop, since seeds are produced by plants according to the genetic variances governed by Mendelian rules. Basically, each seed is genetically different and each will grow with its own specific traits. Therefore, it is preferred that the transformed plant be produced such that the regenerated plant has the identical traits and characteristics of the parent transgenic plant. Therefore, it is preferred that the transformed plant be regenerated by micropropagation which provides a rapid, consistent reproduction of the transformed plants.

Micropropagation is a process of growing new generation plants from a single piece of tissue that has been excised from a selected parent plant or cultivar. This process permits the mass reproduction of plants having the preferred tissue expressing the fusion protein. The new generation plants which are produced are genetically identical to, and have all of the characteristics of, the original plant. Micropropagation allows mass production of quality plant material in a short period of time and offers a rapid multiplication of selected cultivars in the preservation of the characteristics of the original transgenic or transformed plant. The advantages of cloning plants are the speed of plant multiplication and the quality and uniformity of plants produced.

Micropropagation is a multi-stage procedure that requires alteration of culture medium or growth conditions between stages. Thus, the micropropagation process involves four basic stages: Stage one, initial tissue culturing; stage two, tissue culture multiplication; stage three, differentiation and plant formation; and stage four, greenhouse culturing and hardening. During stage one, initial tissue culturing, the tissue culture is established and certified contaminant-free. During stage two, the initial tissue culture is multiplied until a sufficient number of tissue samples are produced from the seedlings to meet production goals. During stage three, the tissue samples grown in stage two are divided and grown into individual plantlets. At stage four, the transformed plantlets are transferred to a greenhouse for hardening where the plants' tolerance to light is gradually increased so that it can be grown in the natural environment.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the transgenic plants are generated by transient transformation of leaf cells, meristematic cells or the whole plant.

Transient transformation can be effected by any of the direct DNA transfer methods described above or by viral infection using modified plant viruses.

Viruses that have been shown to be useful for the transformation of plant hosts include CaMV, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), brome mosaic virus (BMV) and Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BV or BCMV). Transformation of plants using plant viruses is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,237 (bean golden mosaic virus; BGV), EP-A 67,553 (TMV), Japanese Published Application No. 63-14693 (TMV), EPA 194,809 (BV), EPA 278,667 (BV); and Gluzman, Y. et al., Communications in Molecular Biology: Viral Vectors, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, pp. 172-189 (1988). Pseudovirus particles for use in expressing foreign DNA in many hosts, including plants are described in WO 87/06261.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the virus used for transient transformations is avirulent and thus is incapable of causing severe symptoms such as reduced growth rate, mosaic, ring spots, leaf roll, yellowing, streaking, pox formation, tumor formation and pitting. A suitable avirulent virus may be a naturally occurring avirulent virus or an artificially attenuated virus. Virus attenuation may be effected by using methods well known in the art including, but not limited to, sub-lethal heating, chemical treatment or by directed mutagenesis techniques such as described, for example, by Kurihara and Watanabe (Molecular Plant Pathology 4:259-269, 2003), Gal-on et al. (1992), Atreya et al. (1992) and Huet et al. (1994).

Suitable virus strains can be obtained from available sources such as, for example, the American Type culture Collection (ATCC) or by isolation from infected plants. Isolation of viruses from infected plant tissues can be effected by techniques well known in the art such as described, for example by Foster and Taylor, Eds. “Plant Virology Protocols: From Virus Isolation to Transgenic Resistance (Methods in Molecular Biology (Humana Pr), Vol 81)”, Humana Press, 1998. Briefly, tissues of an infected plant believed to contain a high concentration of a suitable virus, preferably young leaves and flower petals, are ground in a buffer solution (e.g., phosphate buffer solution) to produce a virus infected sap which can be used in subsequent inoculations.

Construction of plant RNA viruses for the introduction and expression of non-viral exogenous polynucleotide sequences in plants is demonstrated by the above references as well as by Dawson, W. O. et al., Virology (1989) 172:285-292; Takamatsu et al. EMBO J. (1987) 6:307-311; French et al. Science (1986) 231:1294-1297; Takamatsu et al. FEBS Letters (1990) 269:73-76; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,931.

When the virus is a DNA virus, suitable modifications can be made to the virus itself. Alternatively, the virus can first be cloned into a bacterial plasmid for ease of constructing the desired viral vector with the foreign DNA. The virus can then be excised from the plasmid. If the virus is a DNA virus, a bacterial origin of replication can be attached to the viral DNA, which is then replicated by the bacteria. Transcription and translation of this DNA will produce the coat protein which will encapsidate the viral DNA. If the virus is an RNA virus, the virus is generally cloned as a cDNA and inserted into a plasmid. The plasmid is then used to make all of the constructions. The RNA virus is then produced by transcribing the viral sequence of the plasmid and translation of the viral genes to produce the coat protein(s) which encapsidate the viral RNA.

In one embodiment, a plant viral polynucleotide is provided in which the native coat protein coding sequence has been deleted from a viral polynucleotide, a non-native plant viral coat protein coding sequence and a non-native promoter, preferably the subgenomic promoter of the non-native coat protein coding sequence, capable of expression in the plant host, packaging of the recombinant plant viral polynucleotide, and ensuring a systemic infection of the host by the recombinant plant viral polynucleotide, has been inserted. Alternatively, the coat protein gene may be inactivated by insertion of the non-native polynucleotide sequence within it, such that a protein is produced. The recombinant plant viral polynucleotide may contain one or more additional non-native subgenomic promoters. Each non-native subgenomic promoter is capable of transcribing or expressing adjacent genes or polynucleotide sequences in the plant host and incapable of recombination with each other and with native subgenomic promoters. Non-native (foreign) polynucleotide sequences may be inserted adjacent the native plant viral subgenomic promoter or the native and a non-native plant viral subgenomic promoters if more than one polynucleotide sequence is included. The non-native polynucleotide sequences are transcribed or expressed in the host plant under control of the subgenomic promoter to produce the desired products.

In a second embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is provided as in the first embodiment except that the native coat protein coding sequence is placed adjacent one of the non-native coat protein subgenomic promoters instead of a non-native coat protein coding sequence.

In a third embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is provided in which the native coat protein gene is adjacent its subgenomic promoter and one or more non-native subgenomic promoters have been inserted into the viral polynucleotide. The inserted non-native subgenomic promoters are capable of transcribing or expressing adjacent genes in a plant host and are incapable of recombination with each other and with native subgenomic promoters. Non-native polynucleotide sequences may be inserted adjacent the non-native subgenomic plant viral promoters such that the sequences are transcribed or expressed in the host plant under control of the subgenomic promoters to produce the desired product.

In a fourth embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is provided as in the third embodiment except that the native coat protein coding sequence is replaced by a non-native coat protein coding sequence.

The viral vectors are encapsidated by the coat proteins encoded by the recombinant plant viral polynucleotide to produce a recombinant plant virus. The recombinant plant viral polynucleotide or recombinant plant virus is used to infect appropriate host plants. The recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is capable of replication in the host, systemic spread in the host, and transcription or expression of foreign gene(s) (exogenous polynucleotide) in the host to produce the desired protein.

Techniques for inoculation of viruses to plants may be found in Foster and Taylor, eds. “Plant Virology Protocols: From Virus Isolation to Transgenic Resistance (Methods in Molecular Biology (Humana Pr), Vol 81)”, Humana Press, 1998; Maramorosh and Koprowski, eds. “Methods in Virology” 7 vols, Academic Press, New York 1967-1984; Hill, S. A. “Methods in Plant Virology”, Blackwell, Oxford, 1984; Walkey, D. G. A. “Applied Plant Virology”, Wiley, New York, 1985; and Kado and Agrawa, eds. “Principles and Techniques in Plant Virology”, Van Nostrand-Reinhold, New York.

In addition to the above, the polynucleotide of the present invention can also be introduced into a chloroplast genome thereby enabling chloroplast expression.

A technique for introducing exogenous polynucleotide sequences to the genome of the chloroplasts is known. This technique involves the following procedures. First, plant cells are chemically treated so as to reduce the number of chloroplasts per cell to about one. Then, the exogenous polynucleotide is introduced via particle bombardment into the cells with the aim of introducing at least one exogenous polynucleotide molecule into the chloroplasts. The exogenous polynucleotides selected such that it is integratable into the chloroplast's genome via homologous recombination which is readily effected by enzymes inherent to the chloroplast. To this end, the exogenous polynucleotide includes, in addition to a gene of interest, at least one polynucleotide stretch which is derived from the chloroplast's genome. In addition, the exogenous polynucleotide includes a selectable marker, which serves by sequential selection procedures to ascertain that all or substantially all of the copies of the chloroplast genomes following such selection will include the exogenous polynucleotide. Further details relating to this technique are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,945,050; and 5,693,507 which are incorporated herein by reference. A polypeptide can thus be produced by the protein expression system of the chloroplast and become integrated into the chloroplast's inner membrane.

According to some embodiments, there is provided a method of improving nitrogen use efficiency, yield, seed yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a grafted plant, the method comprising providing a scion that does not transgenically express a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least 80% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726 and a plant rootstock that transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% homologous (or identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722 (e.g., in a constitutive, tissue specific or inducible, e.g., in an abiotic stress responsive manner), thereby improving the nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the grafted plant.

In some embodiments, the plant scion is non-transgenic.

Several embodiments relate to a grafted plant exhibiting improved nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance, comprising a scion that does not transgenically express a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least 80% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726 and a plant rootstock that transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% homologous (or identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722.

In some embodiments, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% homologous (or identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722 in a stress responsive manner.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.

Since processes which increase yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant can involve multiple genes acting additively or in synergy (see, for example, in Quesda et al., Plant Physiol. 130:951-063, 2002), the present invention also envisages expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant to thereby achieve superior effect on nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, oil content, yield, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, growth rate, biomass, vigor and/or abiotic stress tolerance.

Expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant can be effected by co-introducing multiple nucleic acid constructs, each including a different exogenous polynucleotide, into a single plant cell. The transformed cell can then be regenerated into a mature plant using the methods described hereinabove.

Alternatively, expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant can be effected by co-introducing into a single plant-cell a single nucleic-acid construct including a plurality of different exogenous polynucleotides. Such a construct can be designed with a single promoter sequence which can transcribe a polycistronic messenger RNA including all the different exogenous polynucleotide sequences. To enable co-translation of the different polypeptides encoded by the polycistronic messenger RNA, the polynucleotide sequences can be inter-linked via an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) sequence which facilitates translation of polynucleotide sequences positioned downstream of the IRES sequence. In this case, a transcribed polycistronic RNA molecule encoding the different polypeptides described above will be translated from both the capped 5′ end and the two internal IRES sequences of the polycistronic RNA molecule to thereby produce in the cell all different polypeptides. Alternatively, the construct can include several promoter sequences each linked to a different exogenous polynucleotide sequence.

The plant cell transformed with the construct including a plurality of different exogenous polynucleotides, can be regenerated into a mature plant, using the methods described hereinabove.

Alternatively, expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant can be effected by introducing different nucleic acid constructs, including different exogenous polynucleotides, into a plurality of plants. The regenerated transformed plants can then be cross-bred and resultant progeny selected for superior abiotic stress tolerance, water use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, growth, biomass, yield and/or vigor traits, using conventional plant breeding techniques.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under the abiotic stress.

Non-limiting examples of abiotic stress conditions include, salinity, osmotic stress, drought, water deprivation, excess of water (e.g., flood, waterlogging), etiolation, low temperature (e.g., cold stress), high temperature, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency (e.g., nitrogen deficiency or nitrogen limitation), nutrient excess, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under fertilizer limiting conditions (e.g., nitrogen-limiting conditions). Non-limiting examples include growing the plant on soils with low nitrogen content (40-50% Nitrogen of the content present under normal or optimal conditions), or even under sever nitrogen deficiency (0-10% Nitrogen of the content present under normal or optimal conditions), wherein the normal or optimal conditions include about 6-15 mM Nitrogen, e.g., 6-10 mM Nitrogen).

Thus, the invention encompasses plants exogenously expressing the polynucleotide(s), the nucleic acid constructs and/or polypeptide(s) of the invention.

Once expressed within the plant cell or the entire plant, the level of the polypeptide encoded by the exogenous polynucleotide can be determined by methods well known in the art such as, activity assays, Western blots using antibodies capable of specifically binding the polypeptide, Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA), radio-immuno-assays (RIA), immunohistochemistry, immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence and the like.

Methods of determining the level in the plant of the RNA transcribed from the exogenous polynucleotide are well known in the art and include, for example, Northern blot analysis, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis (including quantitative, semi-quantitative or real-time RT-PCR) and RNA-in situ hybridization.

The sequence information and annotations uncovered by the present teachings can be harnessed in favor of classical breeding. Thus, sub-sequence data of those polynucleotides described above, can be used as markers for marker assisted selection (MAS), in which a marker is used for indirect selection of a genetic determinant or determinants of a trait of interest (e.g., biomass, growth rate, oil content, yield, abiotic stress tolerance, water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency and/or fertilizer use efficiency). Nucleic acid data of the present teachings (DNA or RNA sequence) may contain or be linked to polymorphic sites or genetic markers on the genome such as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), DNA fingerprinting (DFP), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), expression level polymorphism, polymorphism of the encoded polypeptide and any other polymorphism at the DNA or RNA sequence.

Examples of marker assisted selections include, but are not limited to, selection for a morphological trait (e.g., a gene that affects form, coloration, male sterility or resistance such as the presence or absence of awn, leaf sheath coloration, height, grain color, aroma of rice); selection for a biochemical trait (e.g., a gene that encodes a protein that can be extracted and observed; for example, isozymes and storage proteins); selection for a biological trait (e.g., pathogen races or insect biotypes based on host pathogen or host parasite interaction can be used as a marker since the genetic constitution of an organism can affect its susceptibility to pathogens or parasites).

The polynucleotides and polypeptides described hereinabove can be used in a wide range of economical plants, in a safe and cost effective manner.

Plant lines exogenously expressing the polynucleotide or the polypeptide of the invention are screened to identify those that show the greatest increase of the desired plant trait.

Thus, according to an additional embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of evaluating a trait of a plant, the method comprising: (a) expressing in a plant or a portion thereof the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention; and (b) evaluating a trait of a plant as compared to a wild type plant of the same type (e.g., a plant not transformed with the claimed biomolecules); thereby evaluating the trait of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop of a plant expressing an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% homologous (e.g., identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722, wherein the plant is derived from a plant (parent plant) that has been transformed to express the exogenous polynucleotide and that has been selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a control plant, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% homologous (e.g., identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency), thereby producing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the polypeptide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop of a plant expressing an exogenous polynucleotide which comprises a nucleic acid sequence which is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271, wherein the plant is derived from a plant selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a control plant, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency), thereby producing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention there is provided a method of growing a crop comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention, e.g., the polynucleotide which encodes the polypeptide of some embodiments of the invention, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a non-transformed plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the method of growing a crop comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, 15455-15721 or 15722, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a non-transformed plant, thereby growing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the polypeptide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.

According to some embodiments of the invention the method of growing a crop comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 4-7, 9-25, 28-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, 8948-9270 or 9271, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a non-transformed plant, thereby growing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of growing a crop comprising:

(a) selecting a parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and

(b) growing progeny crop plant of said parent plant, wherein said progeny crop plant which comprises said exogenous polynucleotide has said increased yield, said increased growth rate, said increased biomass, said increased vigor, said increased oil content, said increased seed yield, said increased fiber yield, said increased fiber quality, said increased fiber length, said increased photosynthetic capacity, said increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or said increased abiotic stress, thereby growing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing seeds of a crop comprising:

(a) selecting parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 713-716, 718-734, 737-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions,

(b) growing a seed producing plant from said parent plant resultant of step (a), wherein said seed producing plant which comprises said exogenous polynucleotide having said increased yield, said increased growth rate, said increased biomass, said increased vigor, said increased oil content, said increased seed yield, said increased fiber yield, said increased fiber quality, said increased fiber length, said increased photosynthetic capacity, said increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or said increased abiotic stress, and

(c) producing seeds from said seed producing plant resultant of step (b), thereby producing seeds of the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of growing a crop comprising:

(a) selecting a parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and

(b) growing progeny crop plant of said parent plant, wherein said progeny crop plant which comprises said exogenous polynucleotide has said increased yield, said increased growth rate, said increased biomass, said increased vigor, said increased oil content, said increased seed yield, said increased fiber yield, said increased fiber quality, said increased fiber length, said increased photosynthetic capacity, said increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or said increased abiotic stress, thereby growing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing seeds of a crop comprising:

(a) selecting parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 713-735, 737-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions,

(b) growing a seed producing plant from said parent plant resultant of step (a), wherein said seed producing plant which comprises said exogenous polynucleotide having said increased yield, said increased growth rate, said increased biomass, said increased vigor, said increased oil content, said increased seed yield, said increased fiber yield, said increased fiber quality, said increased fiber length, said increased photosynthetic capacity, said increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or said increased abiotic stress, and

(c) producing seeds from said seed producing plant resultant of step (b), thereby producing seeds of the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-475, 477, 489-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275. According to a specific embodiment of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide is not an homologue of the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of: SEQ ID NOs: 3560, 3569, 3606, 3608, 8329, 8331, 8351, 8360, 8688, 8939, 8947 and 9275.

According to a specific embodiment of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide does not encode a homologue of the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: SEQ ID NOs: 11323, 11330, 11364, 11366, 14937, 14939, 14958, 14967, 15226, 15446, 15454, and 15726.

The effect of the transgene (the exogenous polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide) on abiotic stress tolerance can be determined using known methods such as detailed below and in the Examples section which follows.

Abiotic stress tolerance—Transformed (i.e., expressing the transgene) and non-transformed (wild type) plants are exposed to an abiotic stress condition, such as water deprivation, suboptimal temperature (low temperature, high temperature), nutrient deficiency, nutrient excess, a salt stress condition, osmotic stress, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

Salinity tolerance assay—Transgenic plants with tolerance to high salt concentrations are expected to exhibit better germination, seedling vigor or growth in high salt. Salt stress can be effected in many ways such as, for example, by irrigating the plants with a hyperosmotic solution, by cultivating the plants hydroponically in a hyperosmotic growth solution (e.g., Hoagland solution), or by culturing the plants in a hyperosmotic growth medium [e.g., 50% Murashige-Skoog medium (MS medium)]. Since different plants vary considerably in their tolerance to salinity, the salt concentration in the irrigation water, growth solution, or growth medium can be adjusted according to the specific characteristics of the specific plant cultivar or variety, so as to inflict a mild or moderate effect on the physiology and/or morphology of the plants (for guidelines as to appropriate concentration see, Bernstein and Kafkafi, Root Growth Under Salinity Stress In: Plant Roots, The Hidden Half 3rd ed. Waisel Y, Eshel A and Kafkafi U. (editors) Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 2002, and reference therein).

For example, a salinity tolerance test can be performed by irrigating plants at different developmental stages with increasing concentrations of sodium chloride (for example 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 400 mM NaCl) applied from the bottom and from above to ensure even dispersal of salt. Following exposure to the stress condition the plants are frequently monitored until substantial physiological and/or morphological effects appear in wild type plants. Thus, the external phenotypic appearance, degree of wilting and overall success to reach maturity and yield progeny are compared between control and transgenic plants.

Quantitative parameters of tolerance measured include, but are not limited to, the average wet and dry weight, growth rate, leaf size, leaf coverage (overall leaf area), the weight of the seeds yielded, the average seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant. Transformed plants not exhibiting substantial physiological and/or morphological effects, or exhibiting higher biomass than wild-type plants, are identified as abiotic stress tolerant plants.

Osmotic tolerance test—Osmotic stress assays (including sodium chloride and mannitol assays) are conducted to determine if an osmotic stress phenotype was sodium chloride-specific or if it was a general osmotic stress related phenotype. Plants which are tolerant to osmotic stress may have more tolerance to drought and/or freezing. For salt and osmotic stress germination experiments, the medium is supplemented for example with 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM NaCl or 100 mM, 200 mM NaCl, 400 mM mannitol.

Drought tolerance assay/Osmoticum assay—Tolerance to drought is performed to identify the genes conferring better plant survival after acute water deprivation. To analyze whether the transgenic plants are more tolerant to drought, an osmotic stress produced by the non-ionic osmolyte sorbitol in the medium can be performed. Control and transgenic plants are germinated and grown in plant-agar plates for 4 days, after which they are transferred to plates containing 500 mM sorbitol. The treatment causes growth retardation, then both control and transgenic plants are compared, by measuring plant weight (wet and dry), yield, and by growth rates measured as time to flowering.

Conversely, soil-based drought screens are performed with plants overexpressing the polynucleotides detailed above. Seeds from control Arabidopsis plants, or other transgenic plants overexpressing the polypeptide of the invention are germinated and transferred to pots. Drought stress is obtained after irrigation is ceased accompanied by placing the pots on absorbent paper to enhance the soil-drying rate. Transgenic and control plants are compared to each other when the majority of the control plants develop severe wilting. Plants are re-watered after obtaining a significant fraction of the control plants displaying a severe wilting. Plants are ranked comparing to controls for each of two criteria: tolerance to the drought conditions and recovery (survival) following re-watering.

Cold stress tolerance—To analyze cold stress, mature (25 day old) plants are transferred to 4° C. chambers for 1 or 2 weeks, with constitutive light. Later on plants are moved back to greenhouse. Two weeks later damages from chilling period, resulting in growth retardation and other phenotypes, are compared between both control and transgenic plants, by measuring plant weight (wet and dry), and by comparing growth rates measured as time to flowering, plant size, yield, and the like.

Heat stress tolerance—Heat stress tolerance is achieved by exposing the plants to temperatures above 34° C. for a certain period. Plant tolerance is examined after transferring the plants back to 22° C. for recovery and evaluation after 5 days relative to internal controls (non-transgenic plants) or plants not exposed to neither cold or heat stress.

Water use efficiency—can be determined as the biomass produced per unit transpiration. To analyze WUE, leaf relative water content can be measured in control and transgenic plants. Fresh weight (FW) is immediately recorded; then leaves are soaked for 8 hours in distilled water at room temperature in the dark, and the turgid weight (TW) is recorded. Total dry weight (DW) is recorded after drying the leaves at 60° C. to a constant weight. Relative water content (RWC) is calculated according to the following Formula I:

Formula I

RWC=[(FW−DW)/(TW−DW)]×100

Fertilizer use efficiency—To analyze whether the transgenic plants are more responsive to fertilizers, plants are grown in agar plates or pots with a limited amount of fertilizer, as described, for example, in Yanagisawa et al (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004; 101:7833-8). The plants are analyzed for their overall size, time to flowering, yield, protein content of shoot and/or grain. The parameters checked are the overall size of the mature plant, its wet and dry weight, the weight of the seeds yielded, the average seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant. Other parameters that may be tested are: the chlorophyll content of leaves (as nitrogen plant status and the degree of leaf verdure is highly correlated), amino acid and the total protein content of the seeds or other plant parts such as leaves or shoots, oil content, etc. Similarly, instead of providing nitrogen at limiting amounts, phosphate or potassium can be added at increasing concentrations. Again, the same parameters measured are the same as listed above. In this way, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), phosphate use efficiency (PUE) and potassium use efficiency (KUE) are assessed, checking the ability of the transgenic plants to thrive under nutrient restraining conditions.

Nitrogen use efficiency—To analyze whether the transgenic plants (e.g., Arabidopsis plants) are more responsive to nitrogen, plant are grown in 0.75-3 mM (nitrogen deficient conditions) or 6-10 mM (optimal nitrogen concentration). Plants are allowed to grow for additional 25 days or until seed production. The plants are then analyzed for their overall size, time to flowering, yield, protein content of shoot and/or grain/seed production. The parameters checked can be the overall size of the plant, wet and dry weight, the weight of the seeds yielded, the average seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant. Other parameters that may be tested are: the chlorophyll content of leaves (as nitrogen plant status and the degree of leaf greenness is highly correlated), amino acid and the total protein content of the seeds or other plant parts such as leaves or shoots and oil content. Transformed plants not exhibiting substantial physiological and/or morphological effects, or exhibiting higher measured parameters levels than wild-type plants, are identified as nitrogen use efficient plants.

Nitrogen Use efficiency assay using plantlets—The assay is done according to Yanagisawa-S. et al. with minor modifications (“Metabolic engineering with Dof1 transcription factor in plants: Improved nitrogen assimilation and growth under low-nitrogen conditions” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101, 7833-7838). Briefly, transgenic plants which are grown for 7-10 days in 0.5×MS [Murashige-Skoog] supplemented with a selection agent are transferred to two nitrogen-limiting conditions: MS media in which the combined nitrogen concentration (NH₄NO₃ and KNO₃) was 0.75 mM (nitrogen deficient conditions) or 6-15 mM (optimal nitrogen concentration). Plants are allowed to grow for additional 30-40 days and then photographed, individually removed from the Agar (the shoot without the roots) and immediately weighed (fresh weight) for later statistical analysis. Constructs for which only T1 seeds are available are sown on selective media and at least 20 seedlings (each one representing an independent transformation event) are carefully transferred to the nitrogen-limiting media. For constructs for which T2 seeds are available, different transformation events are analyzed. Usually, 20 randomly selected plants from each event are transferred to the nitrogen-limiting media allowed to grow for 3-4 additional weeks and individually weighed at the end of that period. Transgenic plants are compared to control plants grown in parallel under the same conditions. Mock-transgenic plants expressing the uidA reporter gene (GUS) under the same promoter or transgenic plants carrying the same promoter but lacking a reporter gene are used as control.

Nitrogen determination—The procedure for N (nitrogen) concentration determination in the structural parts of the plants involves the potassium persulfate digestion method to convert organic N to NO₃ ⁻ (Purcell and King 1996 Argon. J. 88:111-113, the modified Cd⁻ mediated reduction of NO₃ ⁻ to NO₂ ⁻ (Vodovotz 1996 Biotechniques 20:390-394) and the measurement of nitrite by the Griess assay (Vodovotz 1996, supra). The absorbance values are measured at 550 nm against a standard curve of NaNO₂. The procedure is described in details in Samonte et al. 2006 Agron. J. 98:168-176.

Germination tests—Germination tests compare the percentage of seeds from transgenic plants that could complete the germination process to the percentage of seeds from control plants that are treated in the same manner. Normal conditions are considered for example, incubations at 22° C. under 22-hour light 2-hour dark daily cycles. Evaluation of germination and seedling vigor is conducted between 4 and 14 days after planting. The basal media is 50% MS medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962 Plant Physiology 15, 473-497).

Germination is checked also at unfavorable conditions such as cold (incubating at temperatures lower than 10° C. instead of 22° C.) or using seed inhibition solutions that contain high concentrations of an osmolyte such as sorbitol (at concentrations of 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 300 mM, 500 mM, and up to 1000 mM) or applying increasing concentrations of salt (of 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 300 mM, 500 mM NaCl).

The effect of the transgene on plant's vigor, growth rate, biomass, yield and/or oil content can be determined using known methods.

Plant vigor—The plant vigor can be calculated by the increase in growth parameters such as leaf area, fiber length, rosette diameter, plant fresh weight and the like per time.

Growth rate—The growth rate can be measured using digital analysis of growing plants. For example, images of plants growing in greenhouse on plot basis can be captured every 3 days and the rosette area can be calculated by digital analysis. Rosette area growth is calculated using the difference of rosette area between days of sampling divided by the difference in days between samples.

It should be noted that an increase in rosette parameters such as rosette area, rosette diameter and/or rosette growth rate in a plant model such as Arabidopsis predicts an increase in canopy coverage and/or plot coverage in a target plant such as Brassica sp., soy, corn, wheat, Barley, oat, cotton, rice, tomato, sugar beet, and vegetables such as lettuce.

Evaluation of growth rate can be done by measuring plant biomass produced, rosette area, leaf size or root length per time (can be measured in cm² per day of leaf area).

Relative growth area can be calculated using Formula II.

Formula II:

Relative growth rate area=Regression coefficient of area along time course

Thus, the relative growth area rate is in units of area units (e.g., mm²/day or cm²/day) and the relative length growth rate is in units of length units (e.g., cm/day or mm/day).

For example, RGR can be determined for plant height (Formula III), SPAD (Formula IV), Number of tillers (Formula V), root length (Formula VI), vegetative growth (Formula VII), leaf number (Formula VIII), rosette area (Formula IX), rosette diameter (Formula X), plot coverage (Formula XI), leaf blade area (Formula XII), and leaf area (Formula XIII).

Formula III:

Relative growth rate of Plant height=Regression coefficient of Plant height along time course (measured in cm/day).

Formula IV:

Relative growth rate of SPAD=Regression coefficient of SPAD measurements along time course.

Formula V:

Relative growth rate of Number of tillers=Regression coefficient of Number of tillers along time course (measured in units of “number of tillers/day”).

Formula VI:

Relative growth rate of root length=Regression coefficient of root length along time course (measured in cm per day).

Vegetative growth rate analysis—was calculated according to Formula VII below.

Formula VII:

Relative growth rate of vegetative growth=Regression coefficient of vegetative dry weight along time course (measured in grams per day).

Formula VIII:

Relative growth rate of leaf number=Regression coefficient of leaf number along time course (measured in number per day).

Formula IX:

Relative growth rate of rosette area=Regression coefficient of rosette area along time course (measured in cm² per day).

Formula X:

Relative growth rate of rosette diameter=Regression coefficient of rosette diameter along time course (measured in cm per day).

Formula XI:

Relative growth rate of plot coverage=Regression coefficient of plot (measured in cm² per day).

Formula XII:

Relative growth rate of leaf blade area=Regression coefficient of leaf area along time course (measured in cm² per day).

Formula XIII:

Relative growth rate of leaf area=Regression coefficient of leaf area along time course (measured in cm² per day).

Formula XIV:

1000 Seed Weight=number of seed in sample/sample weight X 1000.

The Harvest Index can be calculated using Formulas XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII and LXV below.

Formula XV:

Harvest Index (seed)=Average seed yield per plant/Average dry weight.

Formula XVI:

Harvest Index (Sorghum)=Average grain dry weight per Head/(Average vegetative dry weight per Head+Average Head dry weight).

Formula XVII:

Harvest Index (Maize)=Average grain weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average grain weight per plant).

Harvest Index (for barley)—The harvest index is calculated using Formula XVIII.

Formula XVIII:

Harvest Index (for barley and wheat)=Average spike dry weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant+Average spike dry weight per plant).

Following is a non-limited list of additional parameters which can be detected in order to show the effect of the transgene on the desired plant's traits:

Formula XIX:

Grain circularity=4×3.14 (grain area/perimeter²)

Formula XX:

Internode volume=3.14×(d/2)²×1

Formula XXI:

Total dry matter (kg)=Normalized head weight per plant+vegetative dry weight.

Formula XXII:

Root/Shoot Ratio=total weight of the root at harvest/total weight of the vegetative portion above ground at harvest. (=RBiH/BiH)

Formula XXIII:

Ratio of the number of pods per node on main stem at pod set=Total number of pods on main stem/Total number of nodes on main stem.

Formula XXIV:

Ratio of total number of seeds in main stem to number of seeds on lateral branches=Total number of seeds on main stem at pod set/Total number of seeds on lateral branches at pod set.

Formula XXV:

Petiole Relative Area=(Petiole area)/Rosette area (measured in %).

Formula XXVI:

% reproductive tiller percentage=Number of Reproductive tillers/number of tillers)×100.

Formula XXVII:

Spikes Index=Average Spikes weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average Spikes weight per plant).

Formula XXVIII:

Relative growth rate of root coverage=Regression coefficient of root coverage along time course.

Formula XXIX:

Seed Oil yield=Seed yield per plant (gr.)*Oil % in seed.

Formula XXX:

shoot/root Ratio=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground at harvest/total weight of the root at harvest.

Formula XXXI:

Spikelets Index=Average Spikelets weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average Spikelets weight per plant).

Formula XXXII:

% Canopy coverage=(1−(PAR_DOWN/PAR_UP))×100 measured using AccuPAR Ceptometer Model LP-80.

Formula XXXIII:

leaf mass fraction=Leaf area/shoot FW.

Formula XXXIV:

Relative growth rate based on dry weight=Regression coefficient of dry weight along time course.

Formula XXXV:

Dry matter partitioning (ratio)—At the end of the growing period 6 plants heads as well as the rest of the plot heads were collected, threshed and grains were weighted to obtain grains yield per plot. Dry matter partitioning was calculated by dividing grains yield per plot to vegetative dry weight per plot.

Formula XXXVI:

1000 grain weight filling rate (gr/day)—The rate of grain filling was calculated by dividing 1000 grain weight by grain fill duration.

Formula XXXVII:

Specific leaf area (cm²/gr)—Leaves were scanned to obtain leaf area per plant, and then were dried in an oven to obtain the leaves dry weight. Specific leaf area was calculated by dividing the leaf area by leaf dry weight.

Formula XXXVIII:

Vegetative dry weight per plant at flowering/water until flowering (gr/lit)—Calculated by dividing vegetative dry weight (excluding roots and reproductive organs) per plant at flowering by the water used for irrigation up to flowering

Formula XXXIX:

Yield filling rate (gr/day)—The rate of grain filling was calculated by dividing grains Yield by grain fill duration.

Formula XXXX:

Yield per dunam/water until tan (kg/lit)—Calculated by dividing Grains yield per dunam by water used for irrigation until tan.

Formula XXXXI:

Yield per plant/water until tan (gr/lit)—Calculated by dividing Grains yield per plant by water used for irrigation until tan

Formula XXXXII:

Yield per dunam/water until maturity (gr/lit)—Calculated by dividing grains yield per dunam by the water used for irrigation up to maturity. “Lit”=Liter.

Formula XXXXIII:

Vegetative dry weight per plant/water until maturity (gr/lit): Calculated by dividing vegetative dry weight per plant (excluding roots and reproductive organs) at harvest by the water used for irrigation up to maturity.

Formula XXXXIV:

Total dry matter per plant/water until maturity (gr/lit): Calculated by dividing total dry matter at harvest (vegetative and reproductive, excluding roots) per plant by the water used for irrigation up to maturity.

Formula XXXXV:

Total dry matter per plant/water until flowering (gr/lit): Calculated by dividing total dry matter at flowering (vegetative and reproductive, excluding roots) per plant by the water used for irrigation up to flowering.

Formula XXXXVI:

Heads index (ratio): Average heads weight/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average heads weight per plant).

Formula XXXXVH:

Yield/SPAD (kg/SPAD units)—Calculated by dividing grains yield by average SPAD measurements per plot.

Formula XXXXVIII:

Stem water content (percentage)—stems were collected and fresh weight (FW) was weighted. Then the stems were oven dry and dry weight (DW) was recorded. Stems dry weight was divided by stems fresh weight, subtracted from 1 and multiplied by 100.

Formula XXXXIX:

Leaf water content (percentage)—Leaves were collected and fresh weight (FW) was weighted. Then the leaves were oven dry and dry weight (DW) was recorded. Leaves dry weight was divided by leaves fresh weight, subtracted from 1 and multiplied by 100.

Formula L:

stem volume (cm̂3)—The average stem volume was calculated by multiplying the average stem length by (3.14*((mean lower and upper stem width)/2)̂2).

Formula LI:

NUE—is the ratio between total grain yield per total nitrogen (applied+content) in soil.

Formula LII:

NUpE—Is the ratio between total plant N content per total N (applied+content) in soil.

Formula LIII:

Total NUtE—Is the ratio between total dry matter per N content of total dry matter.

Formula LIV:

Stem density—is the ratio between internode dry weight and internode volume.

Formula LV:

Grain NUtE—Is the ratio between grain yield per N content of total dry matter

Formula LVI:

N harvest index (Ratio)—Is the ratio between nitrogen content in grain per plant and the nitrogen of whole plant at harvest.

Formula LVIII:

Biomass production efficiency—is the ratio between plant biomass and total shoot N.

Formula LVIII:

Harvest index (plot) (ratio)—Average seed yield per plot/Average dry weight per plot.

Formula LIX:

Relative growth rate of petiole relative area—Regression coefficient of petiole relative area along time course (measured in cm² per day).

Formula LX:

Yield per spike filling rate (gr/day)—spike filling rate was calculated by dividing grains yield per spike to grain fill duration.

Formula LXI:

Yield per micro plots filling rate (gr/day)—micro plots filling rate was calculated by dividing grains yield per micro plots to grain fill duration.

Formula LXII:

Grains yield per hectare [ton/ha]—all spikes per plot were harvested threshed and grains were weighted after sun dry. The resulting value was divided by the number of square meters and multiplied by 10,000 (10,000 square meters=1 hectare).

Formula LXIII:

Total dry matter (for Maize)=Normalized ear weight per plant+vegetative dry weight.

$\begin{matrix} {{{Agronomical}\mspace{14mu} {NUE}} = \frac{\begin{matrix} {{{Yield}\mspace{14mu} {per}\mspace{14mu} {plant}\mspace{14mu} \left( {{Kg}.} \right)^{X\mspace{14mu} {Nitrogen}\mspace{14mu} {Fertilization}}} -} \\ {{Yield}\mspace{14mu} {per}\mspace{14mu} {plant}\mspace{14mu} \left( {{Kg}.} \right)^{0\% \mspace{14mu} {Nitrogen}\mspace{14mu} {Fertilization}}} \end{matrix}}{{Fertilizer}^{X}}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} {LXIV}} \end{matrix}$

Formula LXV:

Harvest Index (brachypodium)=Average grain weight/average dry (vegetative+spikelet) weight per plant.

Formula LXVI:

Harvest Index for Sorghum* (* when the plants were not dried)=FW (fresh weight) Heads/(FW Heads+FW Plants)

Grain protein concentration—Grain protein content (g grain protein m⁻²) is estimated as the product of the mass of grain N (g grain N m⁻²) multiplied by the N/protein conversion ratio of k-5.13 (Mosse 1990, supra). The grain protein concentration is estimated as the ratio of grain protein content per unit mass of the grain (g grain protein kg⁻¹ grain).

Fiber length—Fiber length can be measured using fibrograph. The fibrograph system was used to compute length in terms of “Upper Half Mean” length. The upper half mean (UHM) is the average length of longer half of the fiber distribution. The fibrograph measures length in span lengths at a given percentage point (cottoninc (dot) com/ClassificationofCotton/?Pg=4#Length).

According to some embodiments of the invention, increased yield of corn may be manifested as one or more of the following: increase in the number of plants per growing area, increase in the number of ears per plant, increase in the number of rows per ear, number of kernels per ear row, kernel weight, thousand kernel weight (1000-weight), ear length/diameter, increase oil content per kernel and increase starch content per kernel.

As mentioned, the increase of plant yield can be determined by various parameters. For example, increased yield of rice may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of panicles per plant, number of spikelets per panicle, number of flowers per panicle, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand kernel weight (1000-weight), increase oil content per seed, increase starch content per seed, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Similarly, increased yield of soybean may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), reduce pod shattering, increase oil content per seed, increase protein content per seed, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Increased yield of canola may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), reduce pod shattering, increase oil content per seed, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Increased yield of cotton may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of bolls per plant, number of seeds per boll, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), increase oil content per seed, improve fiber length, fiber strength, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Oil content—The oil content of a plant can be determined by extraction of the oil from the seed or the vegetative portion of the plant. Briefly, lipids (oil) can be removed from the plant (e.g., seed) by grinding the plant tissue in the presence of specific solvents (e.g., hexane or petroleum ether) and extracting the oil in a continuous extractor. Indirect oil content analysis can be carried out using various known methods such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy, which measures the resonance energy absorbed by hydrogen atoms in the liquid state of the sample [See for example, Conway T F. and Earle F R., 1963, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society; Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, ISSN: 0003-021X (Print) 1558-9331 (Online)]; the Near Infrared (NI) Spectroscopy, which utilizes the absorption of near infrared energy (1100-2500 nm) by the sample; and a method described in WO/2001/023884, which is based on extracting oil a solvent, evaporating the solvent in a gas stream which forms oil particles, and directing a light into the gas stream and oil particles which forms a detectable reflected light.

Thus, the present invention is of high agricultural value for promoting the yield of commercially desired crops (e.g., biomass of vegetative organ such as poplar wood, or reproductive organ such as number of seeds or seed biomass).

Any of the transgenic plants described hereinabove or parts thereof may be processed to produce a feed, meal, protein or oil preparation, such as for ruminant animals.

The transgenic plants described hereinabove, which exhibit an increased oil content can be used to produce plant oil (by extracting the oil from the plant).

The plant oil (including the seed oil and/or the vegetative portion oil) produced according to the method of the invention may be combined with a variety of other ingredients. The specific ingredients included in a product are determined according to the intended use. Exemplary products include animal feed, raw material for chemical modification, biodegradable plastic, blended food product, edible oil, biofuel, cooking oil, lubricant, biodiesel, snack food, cosmetics, and fermentation process raw material. Exemplary products to be incorporated to the plant oil include animal feeds, human food products such as extruded snack foods, breads, as a food binding agent, aquaculture feeds, fermentable mixtures, food supplements, sport drinks, nutritional food bars, multi-vitamin supplements, diet drinks, and cereal foods.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the oil comprises a seed oil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the oil comprises a vegetative portion oil (oil of the vegetative portion of the plant).

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant cell forms a part of a plant.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a food or feed comprising the plants or a portion thereof of the present invention.

As used herein the term “about” refers to ±10%.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “having” and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”.

The term “consisting of” means “including and limited to”.

The term “consisting essentially of” means that the composition, method or structure may include additional ingredients, steps and/or parts, but only if the additional ingredients, steps and/or parts do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition, method or structure.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term “a compound” or “at least one compound” may include a plurality of compounds, including mixtures thereof.

Throughout this application, various embodiments of this invention may be presented in a range format. It should be understood that the description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well as individual numerical values within that range. For example, description of a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specifically disclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from 2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numbers within that range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This applies regardless of the breadth of the range.

Whenever a numerical range is indicated herein, it is meant to include any cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range. The phrases “ranging/ranges between” a first indicate number and a second indicate number and “ranging/ranges from” a first indicate number “to” a second indicate number are used herein interchangeably and are meant to include the first and second indicated numbers and all the fractional and integral numerals therebetween.

As used herein the term “method” refers to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of the chemical, pharmacological, biological, biochemical and medical arts.

When reference is made to particular sequence listings, such reference is to be understood to also encompass sequences that substantially correspond to its complementary sequence as including minor sequence variations, resulting from, e.g., sequencing errors, cloning errors, or other alterations resulting in base substitution, base deletion or base addition, provided that the frequency of such variations is less than 1 in 50 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 100 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 200 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 500 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 1000 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 5,000 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 10,000 nucleotides.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other described embodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the context of various embodiments are not to be considered essential features of those embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without those elements.

Various embodiments and aspects of the present invention as delineated hereinabove and as claimed in the claims section below find experimental support in the following examples.

EXAMPLES

Reference is now made to the following examples, which together with the above descriptions illustrate some embodiments of the invention in a non limiting fashion.

Generally, the nomenclature used herein and the laboratory procedures utilized in the present invention include molecular, biochemical, microbiological and recombinant DNA techniques. Such techniques are thoroughly explained in the literature. See, for example, “Molecular Cloning: A laboratory Manual” Sambrook et al., (1989); “Current Protocols in Molecular Biology” Volumes I-III Ausubel, R. M., ed. (1994); Ausubel et al., “Current Protocols in Molecular Biology”, John Wiley and Sons, Baltimore, Md. (1989); Perbal, “A Practical Guide to Molecular Cloning”, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1988); Watson et al., “Recombinant DNA”, Scientific American Books, New York; Birren et al. (eds) “Genome Analysis: A Laboratory Manual Series”, Vols. 1-4, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York (1998); methodologies as set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,828; 4,683,202; 4,801,531; 5,192,659 and 5,272,057; “Cell Biology: A Laboratory Handbook”, Volumes I-III Cellis, J. E., ed. (1994); “Current Protocols in Immunology” Volumes I-III Coligan J. E., ed. (1994); Stites et al. (eds), “Basic and Clinical Immunology” (8th Edition), Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, Conn. (1994); Mishell and Shiigi (eds), “Selected Methods in Cellular Immunology”, W. H. Freeman and Co., New York (1980); available immunoassays are extensively described in the patent and scientific literature, see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,791,932; 3,839,153; 3,850,752; 3,850,578; 3,853,987; 3,867,517; 3,879,262; 3,901,654; 3,935,074; 3,984,533; 3,996,345; 4,034,074; 4,098,876; 4,879,219; 5,011,771 and 5,281,521; “Oligonucleotide Synthesis” Gait, M. J., ed. (1984); “Nucleic Acid Hybridization” Hames, B. D., and Higgins S. J., eds. (1985); “Transcription and Translation” Hames, B. D., and Higgins S. J., Eds. (1984); “Animal Cell Culture” Freshney, R. I., ed. (1986); “Immobilized Cells and Enzymes” IRL Press, (1986); “A Practical Guide to Molecular Cloning” Perbal, B., (1984) and “Methods in Enzymology” Vol. 1-317, Academic Press; “PCR Protocols: A Guide To Methods And Applications”, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. (1990); Marshak et al., “Strategies for Protein Purification and Characterization—A Laboratory Course Manual” CSHL Press (1996); all of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Other general references are provided throughout this document. The procedures therein are believed to be well known in the art and are provided for the convenience of the reader. All the information contained therein is incorporated herein by reference.

General Experimental and Bioinformatics Methods

RNA extraction—Tissues growing at various growth conditions (as described below) were sampled and RNA was extracted using TRIzol Reagent from Invitrogen [invitrogen (dot) com/content (dot)cfm?pageid=469]. Approximately 30-50 mg of tissue was taken from samples. The weighed tissues were ground using pestle and mortar in liquid nitrogen and resuspended in 500 μl of TRIzol Reagent. To the homogenized lysate, 100 μl of chloroform was added followed by precipitation using isopropanol and two washes with 75% ethanol. The RNA was eluted in 30 μl of RNase-free water. RNA samples were cleaned up using Qiagen's RNeasy minikit clean-up protocol as per the manufacturer's protocol (QIAGEN Inc, CA USA). For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received an expression Set ID.

Correlation analysis—was performed for selected genes according to some embodiments of the invention, in which the characterized parameters (measured parameters according to the correlation IDs) were used as “X axis” for correlation with the tissue transcriptome, which was used as the “Y axis”. For each gene and measured parameter a correlation coefficient “R” was calculated (using Pearson correlation) along with a p-value for the significance of the correlation. When the correlation coefficient (R) between the levels of a gene's expression in a certain tissue and a phenotypic performance across ecotypes/variety/hybrid is high in absolute value (between 0.5-1), there is an association between the gene (specifically the expression level of this gene) and the phenotypic characteristic (e.g., improved yield, growth rate, nitrogen use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance and the like).

Example 1 Identifying Genes which Improve Yield and Agronomical Important Traits in Plants

The present inventors have identified polynucleotides which expression thereof in plants can increase yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, growth rate, vigor, biomass, growth rate, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance (ABST), fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) such as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and water use efficiency (WUE) of a plant, as follows.

All nucleotide sequence datasets used here were originated from publicly available databases or from performing sequencing using the Solexa technology (e.g. Barley and Sorghum). Sequence data from 100 different plant species was introduced into a single, comprehensive database. Other information on gene expression, protein annotation, enzymes and pathways were also incorporated.

Major databases used include:

Genomes

Arabidopsis genome [TAIR genome version 6 (arabidopsis (dot) org/)];

Rice genome [IRGSP build 4.0 (rgp (dot) dna (dot) affrc (dot) go (dot) jp/IRGSP/)];

Poplar [Populus trichocarpa release 1.1 from JGI (assembly release v1.0) (genome (dot) jgi-psf (dot) org/)];

Brachypodium [JGI 4× assembly, brachpodium (dot) org)];

Soybean [DOE-JGI SCP, version Glyma0 (phytozome (dot) net/)];

Grape [French-Italian Public Consortium for Grapevine Genome Characterization grapevine genome (genoscope (dot) cns (dot) fr/)];

Castobean [TIGR/J Craig Venter Institute 4× assembly [msc (dot) jcvi (dot) org/r communis];

Sorghum [DOE-JGI SCP, version Sbi1 [phytozome (dot) net/)];

Partially assembled genome of Maize [maizesequence (dot) org/];

Expressed EST and mRNA Sequences were Extracted from the Following Databases:

GenBank ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/dbEST;

RefSeq (ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/RefSeq/);

TAIR (arabidopsis (dot) org/);

Protein and Pathway Databases

Uniprot [uniprot (dot) org/];

AraCyc [arabidopsis (dot) org/biocyc/index (dot) jsp];

ENZYME [expasy (dot) org/enzyme/];

Microarray Datasets were Downloaded from:

GEO (ncbi(dot)nlm(dot)nih(dot)gov/geo/);

TAIR (arabidopsis(dot)org/);

Proprietary microarray data (WO2008/122980);

QTL and SNPs Information

Gramene [gramene (dot) org/qtl/];

Panzea [panzea (dot) org/index (dot) html];

Database Assembly—was performed to build a wide, rich, reliable annotated and easy to analyze database comprised of publicly available genomic mRNA, ESTs DNA sequences, data from various crops as well as gene expression, protein annotation and pathway data QTLs, and other relevant information.

Database assembly is comprised of a toolbox of gene refining, structuring, annotation and analysis tools enabling to construct a tailored database for each gene discovery project. Gene refining and structuring tools enable to reliably detect splice variants and antisense transcripts, generating understanding of various potential phenotypic outcomes of a single gene. The capabilities of the “LEADS” platform of Compugen LTD for analyzing human genome have been confirmed and accepted by the scientific community [see e.g., “Widespread Antisense Transcription”, Yelin, et al. (2003) Nature Biotechnology 21, 379-85; “Splicing of Alu Sequences”, Lev-Maor, et al. (2003) Science 300 (5623), 1288-91; “Computational analysis of alternative splicing using EST tissue information”, Xie H et al. Genomics 2002], and have been proven most efficient in plant genomics as well.

EST clustering and gene assembly—For gene clustering and assembly of organisms with available genome sequence data (arabidopsis, rice, castorbean, grape, brachypodium, poplar, soybean, sorghum) the genomic LEADS version (GANG) was employed. This tool allows most accurate clustering of ESTs and mRNA sequences on genome, and predicts gene structure as well as alternative splicing events and anti-sense transcription.

For organisms with no available full genome sequence data, “expressed LEADS” clustering software was applied.

Gene annotation—Predicted genes and proteins were annotated as follows:

Blast search [blast (dot) ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/Blast (dot) cgi] against all plant UniProt [uniprot (dot) org/] sequences was performed. Open reading frames of each putative transcript were analyzed and longest ORF with higher number of homologues was selected as predicted protein of the transcript. The predicted proteins were analyzed by InterPro [ebi (dot) ac (dot) uk/interpro/]

Blast against proteins from AraCyc and ENZYME databases was used to map the predicted transcripts to AraCyc pathways.

Predicted proteins from different species were compared using blast algorithm [ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/Blast (dot) cgi] to validate the accuracy of the predicted protein sequence, and for efficient detection of orthologs.

Gene expression profiling—Several data sources were exploited for gene expression profiling, namely microarray data and digital expression profile (see below). According to gene expression profile, a correlation analysis was performed to identify genes which are co-regulated under different development stages and environmental conditions and associated with different phenotypes.

Publicly available microarray datasets were downloaded from TAIR and NCBI GEO sites, renormalized, and integrated into the database. Expression profiling is one of the most important resource data for identifying genes important for yield.

A digital expression profile summary was compiled for each cluster according to all keywords included in the sequence records comprising the cluster. Digital expression, also known as electronic Northern Blot, is a tool that displays virtual expression profile based on the EST sequences forming the gene cluster. The tool provides the expression profile of a cluster in terms of plant anatomy (e.g., the tissue/organ in which the gene is expressed), developmental stage (the developmental stages at which a gene can be found) and profile of treatment (provides the physiological conditions under which a gene is expressed such as drought, cold, pathogen infection, etc). Given a random distribution of ESTs in the different clusters, the digital expression provides a probability value that describes the probability of a cluster having a total of N ESTs to contain X ESTs from a certain collection of libraries. For the probability calculations, the following is taken into consideration: a) the number of ESTs in the cluster, b) the number of ESTs of the implicated and related libraries, c) the overall number of ESTs available representing the species. Thereby clusters with low probability values are highly enriched with ESTs from the group of libraries of interest indicating a specialized expression.

Recently, the accuracy of this system was demonstrated by Portnoy et al., 2009 (Analysis Of The Melon Fruit Transcriptome Based On 454 Pyrosequencing) in: Plant & Animal Genomes XVII Conference, San Diego, Calif. Transcriptomeic analysis, based on relative EST abundance in data was performed by 454 pyrosequencing of cDNA representing mRNA of the melon fruit. Fourteen double strand cDNA samples obtained from two genotypes, two fruit tissues (flesh and rind) and four developmental stages were sequenced. GS FLX pyrosequencing (Roche/454 Life Sciences) of non-normalized and purified cDNA samples yielded 1,150,657 expressed sequence tags, that assembled into 67,477 unigenes (32,357 singletons and 35,120 contigs). Analysis of the data obtained against the Cucurbit Genomics Database [icugi (dot) org/] confirmed the accuracy of the sequencing and assembly. Expression patterns of selected genes fitted well their qRT-PCR data.

The genes listed in Table 1 below were identified to have a major impact on plant yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, growth rate, photosynthetic capacity, vigor, biomass, growth rate, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency and/or fertilizer use efficiency when expression thereof is increased in plants. The identified genes, their curated polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences, their updated sequences according to Genbank database and the sequences of the cloned genes and proteins are summarized in Table 1, hereinbelow.

TABLE 1 Identified genes for increasing yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, growth rate, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency of a plant Gene Organism and Cluster tag Polyn SEQ Polyp. SEQ Name NO: ID NO: ID: LGP1 arabidopsis|10v1|AT1G32060 4 713 LGP3 arabidopsis|10v1|AT1G63680 5 714 LGP6 arabidopsis|10v1|AT2G25080 6 715 LGP8 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G13720 7 716 LGP9 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G17810 8 717 LGP10 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G20330 9 718 LGP12 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G54660 10 719 LGP18 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G57030 11 720 LGP19 b_juncea|10v2|E6ANDIZ01AHMLF 12 721 LGP20 barley|10v2|AV833857 13 722 LGP21 barley|10v2|BG367409 14 723 LGP22 barley|10v2|BI960336 15 724 LGP24 lettuce|10v1|AF321538 16 725 LGP25 maize|10v1|AI622096 17 726 LGP27 maize|10v1|BG360609 18 727 LGP32 tomato|11v1|AF030292 19 728 LGP34 tomato|11v1|BG131753 20 729 LGP35 tomato|11v1|R27545 21 730 LGP38 arabidopsis|10v1|AT2G15400 22 731 LGP39 arabidopsis|10v1|AT2G15430 23 732 LGP41 sunflower|12v1|CD855665 24 733 LGP42 tomato|11v1|BG128831 25 734 LGP43 canolal|11v1|EG019929 26 735 LGP44 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G37310 27 736 LGP45 b_juncea|10v2|E6ANDIZ01A3IC5 28 737 LGP46 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G58140 29 738 LGP47 cotton|11v1|CO074926XX1 30 739 LGP48 canola|11v1|EG020435 31 740 LGP49 canola|11v1|EE457807 32 741 LGP52 sorghum|12v1|SB05G024560 33 742 LGP53 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G45620 34 743 LGP54 canola|11v1|AY518886 35 744 LGP58 cotton|11v1|BQ405024 36 745 LGP59 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G06430 37 746 LGP60 pigeonpea|11v1|SRR054580X101438 38 747 LGP61 sesame|12v1|SESI12V1412795 39 748 LGP62 cephalotaxus|11v1|SRR064395X102206 40 749 LGP63 rice|11v1|BI305215 41 750 LGP64 flaveria|11v1|SRR149229.109105 42 751 LGP65 cotton|11v1|CO084001 43 752 LGP66 physcomitrella|10v1|BJ172182 44 753 LGP67 canola|11v1|DW997362 45 754 LGP68 rice|11v1|AB042521 46 755 LGP69 canola|11v1|EV020542 47 756 LGP71 bean|12v1|CA896692 48 757 LGP72 maize|10v1|A1967029 49 758 LGP73 maize|10v1|AW054577 50 759 LGP74 maize|10v1|BM075120 51 760 LGP75 maize|10v1|ZMU12233 52 761 LGP76 rice|11v1|AU056832 53 762 LGP77 rice|11v1|BE040832 54 763 LGP78 soybean|11v1|GLYMA04G40990 55 764 LGP79 soybean|11v1|GLYMA18G17600 56 765 LGP80 maize|10v1|BM500498 57 766 LGP81 soybean|11v1|GLYMA09G02440 58 767 LGP82 maize|10v1|A1964481 59 768 LGP83 bar1ey|12v1|BE412944 60 769 LGP84 bean|12v2|CA900203 61 770 LGP85 bean|12v2|FE697169 62 771 LGP86 maize|10v1|AA979831 63 772 LGP87 maize|10v1|A1461460 64 773 LGP88 maize|10v1|A1612489 65 774 LGP89 maize|10v1|A1783343 66 775 LGP90 maize|10v1|A1855400 67 776 LGP91 maize|10v1|A1943931 68 777 LGP92 maize|10v1|AW018130 69 778 LGP93 maize|10v1|AW400247 70 779 LGP94 maize|10v1|BE186218 71 780 LGP95 maize|10v1|BE511836 72 781 LGP96 medicago|12v1|A1083076 73 782 LGP97 medicago|12v1|AW687978 74 783 LGP98 medicago|12v1|BE249345 75 784 LGP99 rice|11v1|A1978381 76 785 LGP100 rice|11v1|AU100980 77 786 LGP101 rice|11v1|BM038323 78 787 LGP102 sorghum|12v1|SB01G004630 79 788 LGP103 sorghum|12v1|SB04G021670 80 789 LGP104 soybean|11v1|GLYMA05G04590 81 790 LGP105 soybean|12v1|GLYMA11G31810 82 791 LGP106 soybean|13v2|BU577083 83 792 LGP107 tomato|11v1|AW221249 84 793 LGP108 wheat|12v3|AL826289 85 794 LGP109 soybean|13v2|GLYMA16G02770T2 86 795 LYD237 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G42190 88 797 MGP14 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G42190 88 797 LYD694 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01A6E3M 100 809 LYD695 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01A8U9K 101 810 LYD696 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01DJK4B 102 811 LYD698 b_rapa|11v1|CD812301 103 812 LYD699 b_rapa|11v1|CD815849 104 813 LYD700 b_rapa|11v1|CD829408 105 814 LYD701 bean|12v1|CA913107 106 815 LYD702 bean|12v2|AB020052 107 816 LYD703 bean|12v2|CA896596 108 817 LYD704 bean|12v2|CA896633 109 818 LYD705 bean|12v2|CA896897 110 819 LYD706 bean|12v2|CA896947 111 820 LYD707 bean|12v2|CA897026 112 821 LYD708 bean|12v2|CA897554 113 822 LYD710 bean|12v2|CA898557 114 823 LYD711 bean|12v2|CA898580 115 824 LYD713 bean|12v2|CA898845 116 825 LYD714 bean|12v2|CA898855 117 826 LYD715 bean|12v2|CA899048 118 827 LYD717 bean|12v2|CA899256 119 828 LYD718 bean|12v2|CA899264 120 829 LYD719 bean|12v2|CA899770 121 830 LYD720 bean|12v2|CA899773 122 831 LYD721 bean|12v2|CA900278 123 832 LYD722 bean|12v2|CA900376 124 833 LYD723 bean|12v2|CA900579 125 834 LYD725 bean|12v2|CA900816 126 835 LYD726 bean|12v2|CA901228 127 836 LYD727 bean|12v2|CA902441 128 837 LYD729 bean|12v2|CA902538 129 838 LYD730 bean|12v2|CA905289 130 839 LYD731 bean|12v2|CA905720 131 840 LYD733 bean|12v2|CA906136 132 841 LYD735 bean|12v2|CA906321 133 842 LYD736 bean|12v2|CA906920 134 843 LYD737 bean|12v2|CA908547 135 844 LYD738 bean|12v2|CA909218 136 845 LYD739 bean|12v2|CA909651 137 846 LYD740 bean|12v2|CA910570 138 847 LYD741 bean|12v2|CA910581 139 848 LYD742 bean|12v2|CA910778 140 849 LYD744 bean|12v2|CA911083 141 850 LYD745 bean|12v2|CA911177 142 851 LYD746 bean|12v2|CA911180 143 852 LYD747 bean|12v2|CA911414 144 853 LYD748 bean|12v2|CA911651 145 854 LYD749 bean|12v2|CA911692 146 855 LYD750 bean|12v2|CA911987 147 856 LYD751 bean|12v2|CA911994 148 857 LYD752 bean|12v2|CA912567 149 858 LYD753 bean|12v2|CA912688 150 859 LYD754 bean|12v2|CA912714 151 860 LYD755 bean|12v2|CA913041 152 861 LYD756 bean|12v2|CA913114 153 862 LYD757 bean|12v2|CA913188 154 863 LYD758 bean|12v2|CA913400 155 864 LYD760 bean|12v2|CA913671 156 865 LYD761 bean|12v2|CA913893 157 866 LYD762 bean|12v2|CA915895 158 867 LYD763 bean|12v2|CA915968 159 868 LYD764 bean|12v2|CA916036 160 869 LYD765 bean|12v2|CA916308 161 870 LYD767 bean|12v2|CA916492 162 871 LYD768 bean|12v2|CA916620 163 872 LYD769 bean|12v2|CB280523 164 873 LYD771 bean|12v2|CB539357 165 874 LYD772 bean|12v2|CB539439 166 875 LYD773 bean|12v2|CB539539 167 876 LYD774 bean|12v2|CB539605 168 877 LYD776 bean|12v2|CB540092 169 878 LYD777 bean|12v2|CB540540 170 879 LYD778 bean|12v2|CB540751 171 880 LYD779 bean|12v2|CB540835 172 881 LYD780 bean|12v2|CB540856 173 882 LYD781 bean|12v2|CB541126 174 883 LYD782 bean|12v2|CB541134 175 884 LYD783 bean|12v2|CB541623 176 885 LYD784 bean|12v2|CB542381 177 886 LYD785 bean|12v2|CB542514 178 887 LYD786 bean|12v2|CB543395 179 888 LYD788 bean|12v2|EG562919 180 889 LYD789 bean|12v2|EX303656 181 890 LYD790 bean|12v2|EX304540 182 891 LYD791 bean|12v2|EX304854 183 892 LYD792 bean|12v2|EX304918 184 893 LYD793 bean|12v2|EX305451 185 894 LYD794 bean|12v2|FE677973 186 895 LYD795 bean|12v2|FE683224 187 896 LYD796 bean|12v2|FE684083 188 897 LYD797 bean|12v2|FE686354 189 898 LYD798 bean|12v2|FE696773 190 899 LYD799 bean|12v2|FE707538 191 900 LYD800 bean|12v2|FE708889 192 901 LYD801 bean|12v2|FE897943 193 902 LYD802 bean|12v2|FE898020 194 903 LYD803 bean|12v2|FE898128 195 904 LYD804 bean|12v2|FE898192 196 905 LYD806 bean|12v2|FE898946 197 906 LYD807 bean|12v2|FE898965 198 907 LYD809 bean|12v2|FE899199 199 908 LYD810 bean|12v2|FE899532 200 909 LYD811 bean|12v2|FE899588 201 910 LYD812 bean|12v2|FG228526 202 911 LYD813 bean|12v2|FG228626 203 912 LYD814 bean|12v2|FG230712 204 913 LYD815 bean|12v2|FG231267 205 914 LYD816 bean|12v2|FG231286 206 915 LYD817 bean|12v2|HO778627 207 916 LYD818 bean|12v2|HO781301 208 917 LYD819 bean|12v2|HO783841 209 918 LYD821 bean|12v2|HO790120 210 919 LYD822 bean|12v2|HO792571 211 920 LYD823 bean|12v2|HO793451 212 921 LYD824 bean|12v2|HO799789 213 922 LYD825 bean|12v2|HO806735 214 923 LYD826 bean|12v2|HO807062 215 924 LYD827 bean|12v2|PVJGI_V1_2012PHVUL_011G04 216 925 3200_1_PACID_27151804 LYD828 bean|13v1|CA914375 217 926 LYD829 bean|13v1|CB544235 218 927 LYD830 bean|13v1|FE690778 219 928 LYD831 canola|11v1|CN730435 220 929 LYD833 canola|11v1|EE424371 221 930 LYD834 canola|11v1|EE482584 222 931 LYD835 cotton|11v1|AI055088 223 932 LYD836 cotton|11v1|AI729950 224 933 LYD837 cotton|11v1|AY779339XX1 225 934 LYD838 cotton|11v1|BE052016XX1 226 935 LYD839 cotton|11v1|BE055237 227 936 LYD840 cotton|11v1|BG444757 228 937 LYD841 cotton|11v1|BM359931 229 938 LYD842 cotton|11v1|CB350435XX2 230 939 LYD843 cotton|11v1|CD485677 231 940 LYD844 cotton|11v1|CO075283 232 941 LYD845 cotton|11v1|CO085527XX2 233 942 LYD846 cotton|11v1|CO089064 234 943 LYD847 cotton|11v1|CO112877XX1 235 944 LYD848 cotton|11v1|CO121493XX1 236 945 LYD849 cotton|11v1|CO493081 237 946 LYD850 cotton|11v1|DW500116 238 947 LYD851 medicago|12v1|AL386155 239 948 LYD852 medicago|12v1|AW256362 240 949 LYD853 medicago|12v1|AW683324 241 950 LYD854 medicago|12v1|AW696146 242 951 LYD855 medicago|12v1|BE316923 243 952 LYD856 medicago|12v1|BF643539 244 953 LYD857 medicago|12v1|BF644247 245 954 LYD858 rice|11v1|AA754378 246 955 LYD859 rice|13v2|BE228731 247 956 LYD860 soybean|11v1|GLYMA13G44040 248 957 LYD861 soybean|11v1|GLYMA15G01270 249 958 LYD863 soybean|12v1|GLYMA01G38410 250 959 LYD864 soybean|12v1|GLYMA05G25960 251 960 LYD865 soybean|12v1|GLYMA06G46850 252 961 LYD866 soybean|12v1|GLYMA08G11220 253 962 LYD867 soybean|12v1|GLYMA10G07340 254 963 LYD868 soybean|12v1|GLYMA10G36220 255 964 LYD869 soybean|12v1|GLYMA10G36230 256 965 LYD870 soybean|12v1|GLYMA11G26980 257 966 LYD871 soybean|12v1|GLYMA11G37390T2 258 967 LYD872 soybean|12v1|GLYMA12G36480 259 968 LYD873 soybean|12v1|GLYMA14G09990 260 969 LYD874 soybean|12v1|GLYMA14G37920 261 970 LYD876 soybean|12v1|GLYMA17G07450 262 971 LYD877 soybean|12v1|GLYMA17G12750T4 263 972 LYD878 soybean|12v1|GLYMA17G13780 264 973 LYD879 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G01820 265 974 LYD880 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G01830 266 975 LYD881 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G48300 267 976 LYD882 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G52810 268 977 LYD883 soybean|13v2|GLYMA01G44970 269 978 LYD884 soybean|13v2|GLYMA02G40770 270 979 LYD886 soybean|13v2|GLYMA11G20080 271 980 LYD887 soybean|13v2|GLYMA12G07990 272 981 LYD888 soybean|13v2|GLYMA13G21490 273 982 LYD890 soybean|13v2|GLYMA17G35060 274 983 LYD891 soybean|13v2|GLYMA19G40580 275 984 LYD892 tomato|11v1|AF096246 276 985 LYD893 tomato|11v1|A1486717 277 986 LYD894 tomato|11v1|A1490031 278 987 LYD895 tomato|11v1|A1637290 279 988 LYD896 tomato|11v1|A1771350 280 989 LYD897 tomato|11v1|A1773083 281 990 LYD898 tomato|11v1|A1773883 282 991 LYD899 tomato|11v1|A1896477 283 992 LYD900 tomato|11v1AW091881 284 993 LYD901 tomato|11v1|AW217431 285 994 LYD902 tomato|11v1|AW399640 286 995 LYD903 tomato|11v1|AW624231 287 996 LYD904 tomato|11v1|BG123561 288 997 LYD905 tomato|11v1|BG123981 289 998 LYD906 tomato|11v1|BG125291 290 999 LYD907 tomato|11v1|BG125405 291 1000 LYD908 tomato|11v1|BG127430 292 1001 LYD909 tomato|11v1|BG128668 293 1002 LYD910 tomato|11v1|BG129449 294 1003 LYD911 tomato|11v1|BG131325 295 1004 LYD912 tomato|11v1|BG132078 296 1005 LYD913 tomato|11v1|BG132886 297 1006 LYD914 tomato|11v1|BG628916 298 1007 LYD915 tomato|13v1|AI483969 299 1008 LYD917 tomato|13v1|AI774553 300 1009 LYD918 tomato|13v1|AI776834 301 1010 LYD919 tomato|13v1|AW160097 302 1011 LYD920 tomato|13v1|AW616349 303 1012 LYD921 tomato|13v1|BG128290 304 1013 LYD922 tomato|13v1|BG133370 305 1014 LYD923 tomato|13v1|BG627938 306 1015 LYD924 tomato|13v1|BG735361 307 1016 LYD925 tomato|13v1|LEACS6 308 1017 LYD926 bean|12v2|CA899181 309 1018 LYD929 bean|12v2|CA910968 310 1019 LYD930 bean|12v2|CB542591 311 1020 LYD869 soybean|13v2|GLYMA20G31360 312 1021 _H1 MGP1 cotton|11v1|CO100059XX2 320 1029 MGP2 arabidopsis|10v1|AT1G75950 321 1030 MGP4 soybean|12v1|GLYMA04G37510 322 1031 MGP5 medicago|12v1|AL374833 323 1032 MGP6 brachypodium|12v1|BRADI5G22260 324 1033 MGP7 sorghum|12v1|SB03G041200 325 1034 MGP9 switchgrass|12v1|FL691989 326 1035 LGP85 bean|12v2|FE697169 327 771 LGP91 maize|10v1|AI943931 328 1036 LGP92 maize|10v1|AW018130 329 778 LGP93 maize|10v1|AW400247 330 779 LGP104 soybean|11v1|GLYMA05G04590 331 1037 LGP108 wheat|12v3|AL826289 332 794 LYD695 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01A8U9K 333 1038 LYD696 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01DJK4B 334 1039 LYD699 b_rapa|11v1|CD815849 335 1040 LYD703 bean|12v2|CA896596 336 817 LYD706 bean|12v2|CA896947 337 820 LYD707 bean|12v2|CA897026 338 821 LYD715 bean|12v2|CA899048 339 827 LYD717 bean|12v2|CA899256 340 828 LYD725 bean|12v2|CA900816 341 1041 LYD736 bean|12v2|CA906920 342 1042 LYD737 bean|12v2|CA908547 343 844 LYD741 bean|12v2|CA910581 344 1043 LYD751 bean|12v2|CA911994 345 857 LYD756 bean|12v2|CA913114 346 862 LYD765 bean|12v2|CA916308 347 870 LYD771 bean|12v2|CB539357 348 1044 LYD773 bean|12v2|CB539539 349 1045 LYD782 bean|12v2|CB541134 350 884 LYD790 bean|12v2|EX304540 351 891 LYD794 bean|12v2|FE677973 352 1046 LYD795 bean|12v2|FE683224 353 896 LYD796 bean|12v2|FE684083 354 1047 LYD798 bean|12v2|FE696773 355 899 LYD799 bean|12v2|FE707538 356 900 LYD800 bean|12v2|FE708889 357 901 LYD801 bean|12v2|FE897943 358 902 LYD803 bean|12v2|FE898128 359 904 LYD804 bean|12v2|FE898192 360 905 LYD817 bean|12v2|H0778627 361 916 LYD819 bean|12v2|H0783841 362 918 LYD822 bean|12v2|H0792571 363 1048 LYD823 bean|12v2|H0793451 364 1049 LYD827 bean|12v2|PVJG1_V1_2012PHVUL_011G04 365 925 3200_1_PACID_27151804 LYD828 bean|13v1|CA914375 366 1050 LYD830 bean|13v1|FE690778 367 1051 LYD834 canola|11v1|EE482584 368 1052 LYD835 cotton|11v1|A1055088 369 932 LYD841 cotton|11v1|BM359931 370 1053 LYD849 cotton|11v1|CO493081 371 946 LYD850 cotton|11v1|DW500116 372 947 LYD853 medicago|12v1|AW683324 373 950 LYD857 medicago|12v1|BF644247 374 1054 LYD867 soybean|12v1|GLYMA10G07340 375 963 LYD868 soybean|12v1|GLYMA10G36220 376 964 LYD892 tomato|11v1|AF096246 377 1055 LYD899 tomato|11v1|A1896477 378 1056 LYD901 tomato|11v1|AW217431 379 1057 LYD904 tomato|11v1|BG123561 380 1058 LYD906 tomato|11v1|BG125291 381 1059 LYD907 tomato|11v1|BG125405 382 1060 LYD908 tomato|11v1|BG127430 383 1061 LYD910 tomato|11v1|BG129449 384 1062 LYD914 tomato|11v1|BG628916 385 1063 LYD915 tomato|11v1|TOBBCSO 386 1008 LYD918 tomato|13v1|A1776834 387 1010 LYD921 tomato|13v1|BG128290 388 1013 LYD925 tomato|113v1|LEACS6 389 1064 MGP7 sorghum|12v1|SBO3G041200 391 1034 LGP1 arabidopsis|10v1|AT1G32060 395 713 LGP3 arabidopsis|10v1|AT1G63680 396 714 LGP6 arabidopsis|10v1|AT2G25080 397 715 LGP8 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G13720 398 716 LGP9 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G17810 399 717 LGP10 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G20330 400 718 LGP12 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G54660 401 719 LGP18 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G57030 402 720 LGP19 b_juncea|10v2|E6ANDIZ01AHMLF 403 1067 LGP20 barley|10v2|AV833857 404 1068 LGP21 barley|10v2|BG367409 405 723 LGP22 barley|10v2|BI960336 406 724 LGP24 lettuce|10v1|AF321538 407 725 LGP25 maize|10v1|AI622096 408 1069 LGP27 maize|10v1|BG360609 409 1070 LGP32 tomato|11v1|AF030292 410 728 LGP34 tomato|11v1|BG131753 411 729 LGP35 tomato|11v1|R27545 412 1071 LGP38 arabidopsis|10v1|AT2G15400 413 731 LGP39 arabidopsis|10v1|AT2G15430 414 732 LGP41 sunflower|12v1|CD855665 415 733 LGP42 tomato|11v1|BG128831 416 1072 LGP43 canola|11v1|EG019929 417 735 LGP44 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G37310 418 736 LGP45 b_junceal|10v2|E6ANDIZ01A3IC5 419 737 LGP46 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G58140 420 738 LGP47 cotton|11v1|CO074926XX1 421 1073 LGP48 canola|11v1|EG020435 422 1074 LGP49 canola|11v1|EE457807 423 741 LGP52 sorghum|12v1|SB05G024560 424 742 LGP53 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G45620 425 743 LGP54 canola|11v1|AY518886 426 744 LGP58 cotton|11v1|BQ405024 427 1075 LGP59 arabidopsis|10v1|AT3G06430 428 746 LGP60 pigeonpea|11v1|SRR054580X101438 429 747 LGP61 sesame|12v1|SESI12V1412795 430 748 LGP62 cephalotaxus|11v1|SRR064395X102206 431 749 LGP63 rice|11v1|BI305215 432 750 LGP64 flaveria|11v1|SRR149229.109105 433 751 LGP65 cotton|11v1|CO084001 434 752 LGP66 physcomitrella|10v1|BJ172182 435 1076 LGP67 canola|11v|DW997362 436 1077 LGP68 rice|11v1|AB042521 437 755 LGP69 canola|11v1|EV020542 438 1078 LGP71 bean|12v1|CA896692 439 757 LGP72 maize|10v1|AI967029 440 1079 LGP73 maize|10v1|AW054577 441 759 LGP74 maize|10v1|BM075120 442 760 LGP75 maize|10v1|ZMU12233 443 761 LGP76 rice|11v1|AU056832 444 762 LGP77 rice|11v1|BE040832 445 763 LGP78 soybean|11v1|GLYMA04G40990 446 764 LGP79 soybean|11v1|GLYMA18G17600 447 1080 LGP80 maize|10v1|BM500498 448 1081 LGP81 soybean|11v1|GLYMA09G02440 449 767 LGP82 maize|10v1|A1964481 450 768 LGP83 barley|12v1|BE412944 451 769 LGP84 bean|12v2|CA900203 452 1082 LGP85 bean|12v2|FE697169 453 1083 LGP86 maize|0v1|AA979831 454 772 LGP87 maize|10v1|A1461460 455 773 LGP88 maize|10v1|A1612489 456 1084 LGP89 maize|10v1|A1783343 457 1085 LGP90 maize|10v1|A1855400 458 1086 LGP91 maize|10v1|A1943931 459 1087 LGP94 maize|10v1|BE186218 460 780 LGP95 maize|10v1|BE511836 461 781 LGP96 medicago|12v1|A1083076 462 1088 LGP97 medicago|12v1|AW687978 463 783 LGP98 medicago|12v1|BE249345 464 784 LGP99 rice|11v1|A1978381 465 1089 LGP100 rice|11v1|AU100980 466 786 LGP101 rice|11v1|BM038323 467 787 LGP102 sorghum|12v1|SB01G004630 468 788 LGP103 sorghum|12v1|SB04G021670 469 1090 LGP104 soybean|11v1|GLYMA05G04590 470 790 LGP105 soybean|12v1|GLYMA11G31810 471 791 LGP106 soybean|13v2|BU577083 472 792 LGP107 tomato|11v1|AW221249 473 793 LGP108 wheat|12v3|AL826289 474 1091 LGP109 soybean|13v2|GLYMA16G02770T2 475 1092 LYD237 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G42190 477 797 MGP14 arabidopsis|10v1|AT5G42190 477 797 LYD694 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01A6E3M 489 809 LYD695 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01A8U9K 490 810 LYD696 b_juncea|12v1|E6ANDIZ01DJK4B 491 1094 LYD698 b_rapa|11v1|CD812301 492 812 LYD699 b_rapa|11v1|CD815849 493 813 LYD700 b_rapa|11v1|CD829408 494 814 LYD701 bean|12v1|CA913107 495 815 LYD702 bean|12v2|AB020052 496 816 LYD703 bean|12v2|CA896596 497 817 LYD704 bean|12v2|CA896633 498 818 LYD705 bean|12v2|CA896897 499 819 LYD706 bean|12v2|CA896947 500 1095 LYD707 bean|12v2|CA897026 501 821 LYD708 bean|12v2|CA897554 502 822 LYD710 bean|12v2|CA898557 503 823 LYD711 bean|12v2|CA898580 504 1096 LYD713 bean|12v2|CA898845 505 825 LYD714 bean|12v2|CA898855 506 826 LYD715 bean|12v2|CA899048 507 827 LYD717 bean|12v2|CA899256 508 828 LYD718 bean|12v2|CA899264 509 1097 LYD719 bean|12v2|CA899770 510 830 LYD720 bean|12v2|CA899773 511 831 LYD721 bean|12v2|CA900278 512 1098 LYD722 bean|12v2|CA900376 513 1099 LYD723 bean|12v2|CA900579 514 834 LYD725 bean|12v2|CA900816 515 1100 LYD726 bean|12v2|CA901228 516 836 LYD727 bean|12v2|CA902441 517 837 LYD729 bean|12v2|CA902538 518 838 LYD730 bean|12v2|CA905289 519 839 LYD731 bean|12v2|CA905720 520 840 LYD733 bean|12v2|CA906136 521 841 LYD735 bean|12v2|CA906321 522 842 LYD737 bean|12v2|CA908547 523 844 LYD738 bean|12v2|CA909218 524 1101 LYD739 bean|12v2|CA909651 525 846 LYD740 bean|12v2|CA910570 526 847 LYD741 bean|12v2|CA910581 527 848 LYD742 bean|12v2|CA910778 528 1102 LYD744 bean|12v2|CA911083 529 1103 LYD745 bean|12v2|CA911177 530 851 LYD746 bean|12v2|CA911180 531 852 LYD747 bean|12v2|CA911414 532 853 LYD748 bean|12v2|CA911651 533 1104 LYD749 bean|12v2|CA911692 534 855 LYD750 bean|12v2|CA911987 535 856 LYD751 bean|12v2|CA911994 536 857 LYD752 bean|12v2|CA912567 537 858 LYD753 bean|12v2|CA912688 538 1105 LYD754 bean|12v2|CA912714 539 860 LYD755 bean|12v2|CA913041 540 861 LYD756 bean|12v2|CA913114 541 862 LYD757 bean|12v2|CA913188 542 863 LYD758 bean|12v2|CA913400 543 1106 LYD760 bean|12v2|CA913671 544 1107 LYD761 bean|12v2|CA913893 545 866 LYD762 bean|12v2|CA915895 546 867 LYD763 bean|12v2|CA915968 547 1108 LYD764 bean|12v2|CA916036 548 1109 LYD765 bean|12v2|CA916308 549 1110 LYD767 bean|12v2|CA916492 550 871 LYD768 bean|12v2|CA916620 551 1111 LYD769 bean|12v2|CB280523 552 873 LYD771 bean|12v2|CB539357 553 1112 LYD772 bean|12v2|CB539439 554 1113 LYD773 bean|12v2|CB539539 555 876 LYD774 bean|12v2|CB539605 556 877 LYD776 bean|12v2|CB540092 557 878 LYD777 bean|12v2|CB540540 558 879 LYD778 bean|12v2|CB540751 559 1114 LYD779 bean|12v2|CB540835 560 1115 LYD780 bean|12v2|CB540856 561 882 LYD781 bean|12v2|CB541126 562 1116 LYD782 bean|12v2|CB541134 563 1117 LYD783 bean|12v2|CB541623 564 885 LYD784 bean|12v2|CB542381 565 886 LYD785 bean|12v2|CB542514 566 887 LYD786 bean|12v2|CB543395 567 888 LYD788 bean|12v2|EG562919 568 889 LYD789 bean|12v2|EX303656 569 890 LYD790 bean|12v2|EX304540 570 1118 LYD791 bean|12v2|EX304854 571 892 LYD792 bean|12v2|EX304918 572 1119 LYD793 bean|12v2|EX305451 573 1120 LYD794 bean|12v2|FE677973 574 895 LYD795 bean|12v2|FE683224 575 896 LYD796 bean|12v2|FE684083 576 897 LYD798 bean|12v2|FE696773 577 1121 LYD799 bean|12v2|FE707538 578 1122 LYD800 bean|12v2|FE708889 579 901 LYD801 bean|12v2|FE897943 580 902 LYD802 bean|12v2|FE898020 581 903 LYD803 bean|12v2|FE898128 582 904 LYD804 bean|12v2|FE898192 583 905 LYD806 bean|12v2|FE898946 584 1123 LYD807 bean|12v2|FE898965 585 1124 LYD809 bean|12v2|FE899199 586 908 LYD810 bean|12v2|FE899532 587 1125 LYD811 bean|12v2|FE899588 588 1126 LYD812 bean|12v2|FG228526 589 911 LYD813 bean|12v2|FG228626 590 1127 LYD814 bean|12v2|FG230712 591 1128 LYD815 bean|12v2|FG231267 592 914 LYD816 bean|12v2|FG231286 593 1129 LYD817 bean|12v2|H0778627 594 916 LYD818 bean|12v2|H0781301 595 1130 LYD819 bean|12v2|H0783841 596 918 LYD821 bean|12v2|H0790120 597 919 LYD823 bean|12v2|H0793451 598 921 LYD824 bean|12v2|H0799789 599 922 LYD825 bean|12v2|H0806735 600 923 LYD826 bean|12v2|H0807062 601 924 LYD828 bean|13v1|CA914375 602 1131 LYD829 bean|13v1|CB544235 603 1132 LYD830 bean|13v1|FE690778 604 928 LYD831 canola|11v1|CN730435 605 929 LYD833 canola|11v1|EE424371 606 930 LYD834 canola|11v1|EE482584 607 1133 LYD835 cotton|11v1|A1055088 608 932 LYD836 cotton|11v1|A1729950 609 933 LYD837 cotton|11v1|AY779339XX1 610 934 LYD838 cotton|11v1|BE052016XX1 611 935 LYD839 cotton|11v1|BE055237 612 936 LYD840 cotton|11v1|BG444757 613 937 LYD841 cotton|11v1|BM359931 614 1134 LYD842 cotton|11v1|CB350435XX2 615 939 LYD843 cotton|11v1|CD485677 616 940 LYD844 cotton|11v1|CO075283 617 1135 LYD845 cotton|11v1|CO085527XX2 618 1136 LYD846 cotton|11v1|CO089064 619 1137 LYD847 cotton|11v1|CO112877XX1 620 1138 LYD848 cotton|11v1|CO121493XX1 621 945 LYD849 cotton|11v1|CO493081 622 1139 LYD850 cotton|11v1|DW500116 623 1140 LYD851 medicago|12v1|AL386155 624 948 LYD852 medicago|12v1|AW256362 625 1141 LYD853 medicago|12v1|AW683324 626 950 LYD854 medicago|12v1|AW696146 627 951 LYD855 medicago|12v1|BE316923 628 952 LYD856 medicago|12v1|BF643539 629 1142 LYD857 medicago|12v1|BF644247 630 954 LYD858 rice|11v1|AA754378 631 955 LYD859 rice|13v2|BE228731 632 956 LYD860 soybean|11v1|GLYMA13G44040 633 957 LYD861 soybean|11v1|GLYMA15G01270 634 958 LYD863 soybean|12v1|GLYMA01G38410 635 959 LYD864 soybean|12v1|GLYMA05G25960 636 960 LYD865 soybean|12v1|GLYMA06G46850 637 1143 LYD866 soybean|12v1|GLYMA08G11220 638 962 LYD867 soybean|12v1|GLYMA10G07340 639 963 LYD868 soybean|12v1|GLYMA10G36220 640 1144 LYD870 soybean|12v1|GLYMA11G26980 641 966 LYD871 soybean|12v1|GLYMA11G37390T2 642 967 LYD872 soybean|12v1|GLYMA12G36480 643 968 LYD873 soybean|12v1|GLYMA14G09990 644 969 LYD874 soybean|12v1|GLYMA14G37920 645 970 LYD876 soybean|12v1|GLYMA17G07450 646 971 LYD877 soybean|12v1|GLYMA17G12750T4 647 972 LYD878 soybean|12v1|GLYMA17G13780 648 973 LYD879 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G01820 649 974 LYD880 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G01830 650 975 LYD881 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G48300 651 1145 LYD882 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G52810 652 977 LYD883 soybean|13v2|GLYMA01G44970 653 978 LYD884 soybean|13v2|GLYMA02G40770 654 979 LYD886 soybean|13v2|GLYMA11G20080 655 980 LYD887 soybean|13v2|GLYMA12G07990 656 981 LYD888 soybean|13v2|GLYMA13G21490 657 982 LYD890 soybean|13v2|GLYMA17G35060 658 983 LYD891 soybean|13v2|GLYMA19G40580 659 1146 LYD892 tomato|11v1|AF096246 660 985 LYD893 tomato|11v1|AI486717 661 986 LYD894 tomato|11v1|AI490031 662 987 LYD895 tomato|11v1|AI637290 663 988 LYD896 tomato|11v1|AI771350 664 989 LYD897 tomato|11v1|AI773083 665 990 LYD898 tomato|11v1|AI773883 666 991 LYD899 tomato|11v1|AI896477 667 1147 LYD900 tomato|11v1|AW091881 668 1148 LYD901 tomato|11v1|AW217431 669 994 LYD902 tomato|11v1|AW399640 670 995 LYD903 tomato|11v1|AW624231 671 996 LYD904 tomato|11v1|BG123561 672 1149 LYD905 tomato|11v1|BG123981 673 998 LYD906 tomato|11v1|BG125291 674 999 LYD907 tomato|11v1|BG125405 675 1000 LYD908 tomato|11v1|BG127430 676 1150 LYD909 tomato|11v1|BG128668 677 1002 LYD910 tomato|11v1|BG129449 678 1003 LYD911 tomato|11v1|BG131325 679 1151 LYD912 tomato|11v1|BG132078 680 1005 LYD913 tomato|11v1|BG132886 681 1006 LYD914 tomato|11v1|BG628916 682 1007 LYD915 tomato|13v1|AI483969 683 1008 LYD917 tomato|13v1|AI774553 684 1009 LYD918 tomato|13v1|AI776834 685 1010 LYD919 tomato|13v1|AW160097 686 1011 LYD920 tomato|13v1|AW616349 687 1012 LYD921 tomato|13v1|BG128290 688 1152 LYD922 tomato|13v1|BG133370 689 1014 LYD923 tomato|13v1|BG627938 690 1153 LYD924 tomato|13v1|BG735361 691 1016 LYD925 tomato|13v1|LEACS6 692 1017 LYD926 bean|12v2|CA899181 693 1018 LYD929 bean|12v2|CA910968 694 1019 LYD930 bean|12v2|CB542591 695 1020 LYD869 soybean|13v2|GLYMA20G31360 696 1021 _H1 MGP1 cotton|11v1|CO100059XX2 704 1029 MGP2 arabidopsis|10v1|AT1G75950 705 1030 MGP4 soybean|12v1|GLYMA04G37510 706 1031 MGP5 medicago|12v1|AL374833 707 1032 MGP7 sorghum|12v1|SB03G041200 708 1034 MGP9 switchgrass|12v1|FL691989 709 1035 rice|13v2|BE041040_P1 1157 9276 cacao|13v1|CU618772_T1 1158 9277 sorghum|13v2|CD225902_P1 1159 9278 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X111147_P1 1160 9279 brachypodium|13v2|BRADI2G04690_P1 1161 9280 rice|13v2|CB621206_P1 1162 9281 rice|13v2|AU225333_P1 1163 9282 maize|13v2|BQ703954_P1 3502 11276 maize|13v2|BE056872_P1 3503 11277 chickpea|13v2|SRR133522.237740_P1 3551 11316 chickpea|13v2|SRR133517.100334_P1 3552 11317 chickpea|13v2|SRR133517.103317_P1 3553 11318 rice|13v2|BI305582_P1 3554 11319 soybean|12v1|GLYMA09G33700T2 3555 11320 soybean|13v2|GLYMA09G33700T2_P1 3556 11320 bean|13v1|SRR001335X371744_T1 3557 11321 bean|12v2|FE683652 3558 11322 bean|13v1|FE683652_P1 3559 11322 soybean|13v2|GLYMAO5G31510_T1 3560 11323 medicago|13v11|AW776098_P1 3561 11324 soybean|12v1|GLYMA18G19050 3562 11325 soybean|13v2|GLYMA18G19050_T1 3563 11325 bean|12v2|CK901542 3564 11326 bean|13v1|CK901542_T1 3565 11326 chickpea|13v2|SRR133517.106923_T1 3566 11327 peanut|13v1|SRR042418X140974_T1 3567 11328 medicago|13v1|BE317701_T1 3568 11329 peanut|13v1|SRR042415X30056_T1 3569 11330 soybean|13v2|GLYMA12G01600_P1 3570 11331 bean|13v1|CB280685_P1 3571 11332 peanut|13v1|EL966966_P1 3572 11333 lupin|13v4|SRR520490.227669_P1 3573 11334 lupin|13v4|SRR520490.212153_P1 3574 11335 medicago|13v1|AW256804_P1 3575 11336 soybean|13v2|GLYMA19G01910_P1 3576 11337 bean|13v1|SRR001334X123668_P1 3577 11338 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|FG136526_P1 3578 11339 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|AJ719147_P1 3579 11340 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|BP748471_P1 3580 11341 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|EB424861_P1 3581 11342 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|FG173504_P1 3582 11342 monkeyflower|12v1|DV211803_P1 3583 11343 echinacea|13v1|EPURP13V11254457_P1 3584 11344 triphysaria|13v1|EY004301_T1 3585 11345 arabidopsis_lyrata|13v1|T21894_P1 3586 11346 arabidopsis_lyrata|13v1|F15307_P1 3587 11347 arabidopsis|13v2|AT1G64190_P1 3588 11348 thellungiella_halophilum|13v1|BY804243_P1 3589 11349 peanut|13v1|ES490969_P1 3590 11350 arabidopsis|13v2|AT5G41670_P1 3591 11351 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.149183_T1 3592 11352 cacao|13v1|CU508968_P1 3593 11353 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.32701_P1 3594 11354 ginseng|13v1|HS077265_P1 3595 11355 soybean|13v2|GLYMA08G02410_P1 3596 11356 grape|13v1|GFXAM458581X1_P1 3597 11357 soybean|13v2|GLYMA05G37170_P1 3598 11358 soybean|12v1|GLYMA05G37170 3599 11358 soybean|13v2|GLYMA05G37150_P1 3600 11358 medicago|13v1|AL384701_P1 3601 11359 thellungiella_halophilum|13v1|SRR487818.1 3602 11360 22950_P1 prunus_mumel|13v1|CB819193 3603 11361 pop1ar|13v1|BU829466_P1 3604 11362 chickpea|13v2|GR912447_P1 3605 11363 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.11969_T1 3606 11364 lupin|13v4|SRR520491.1010389_P1 3607 11365 quinoa|13v2|SRR315568X203600_T1 3608 11366 pop1ar|13v1|AI165699_P1 3609 11367 bean|12v2|CA900025 3610 11368 bean|13v1|CA900025_P1 3611 11369 bean|13v1|EX303864_T1 3612 11370 sorghum|13v2|AW679501_P1 8306 14914 cenchrus|13v1|EB654709_P1 8307 14915 cenchrus|13v1|EB655983_P1 8308 14916 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X154353_P1 8309 14917 switchgrass|12v1|FL975806 8310 14918 rice|13v2|AA751715_P1 8311 14919 maize|13v2|AW506667_P1 8312 14920 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X103395_P1 8313 14921 maizel|13v2|AW067342_P1 8314 14922 switchgrass|12v1|DN147336 8315 14923 switchgrass|12v1|DN140971 8316 14924 brachypodium|13v2|BRADI1G26530_P1 8317 14925 rice|13v2|BI809972_P1 8318 14926 switchgrass|12v1|DN141934 8319 14927 sorghum|13v2|CB926713_P1 8320 14928 rice|13v2|CA766993_P1 8321 14929 brachypodium|13v2|BRADI4G11300_T1 8322 14930 maize|13v2|CF004751_P1 8323 14931 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X193552_P1 8324 14932 lolium|13v1|ERR246396S102853_T1 8325 14933 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X158458_P1 8326 14934 maize|13v2|AI677471_P1 8327 14935 rice|13v2|AF150113_P1 8328 14936 sorghum|13v2|AW745516_P1 8329 14937 switchgrass|12v1|FE607135 8330 14938 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X11557_P1 8331 14939 lolium|13v1|ES699040_P1 8332 14940 brachypodium|13v2|BRADI4G04290_P1 8333 14941 cenchrus|13v1|SRR124128X153623DLP1 8334 14942 echinacea|13v1|EPURP13V12373706_P1 8335 14943 triphysarial|13v1|EY128870_P1 8336 14944 olea|13v1|SRR014463X19237DLP1 8337 14945 basilicum|13v1|B10LEAF318589_P1 8338 14946 cenchrus|13v1|SRR124128X217742DLP1 8339 14947 olea|13v1|SRR592583X111364Dl_P1 8340 14948 cenchrus|13v1|SRR124128X154700DLP1 8341 14949 monkeyflower|12v1|G0955392_P1 8342 14950 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|FS384845_P1 8343 14951 grape|13v1|GSVIVT01024961001_P1 8344 14952 quinoa|13v2|SRR315569X210009_P1 8345 14953 monkeyflower|12v1|DV209890_P1 8346 14954 ginseng|13v1|SRR547984.455348_P1 8347 14955 quinoa|13v2|CQUI13V11038342_P1 8348 14956 quinoa|13v2|SRR315570X375187_P1 8349 14956 grape|13v1|GSVIVT01034172001_P1 8350 14957 prunus_mume|13v1|DY647652 8351 14958 zostera|12v1|SRR057351X103123D1 8352 14959 ginseng|13v1|PG13V1394312_P1 8353 14960 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.21750_P1 8354 14961 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.484054_P1 8355 14962 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|EB431713_P1 8356 14963 nicotiana_benthamiana|12v1|BP746194_P1 8357 14964 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.449157_P1 8358 14965 prunus_mume|13v1|CV044615 8359 14966 centaurea|11v1|EH768661_T1 8360 14967 fescue|13v1|H0060678_P1 8361 14968 ginseng|13v1|JK984156_P1 8362 14969 tomato|13v1|BG125134_P1 8363 14970 echinacea|13v1|EPURP13V12056964_P1 8364 14971 centaurea|11v1|EH742119_P1 8365 14972 lupin|13v4|SRR520491.1026789_P1 8366 14973 centaurea|11v1|EH721004_P1 8367 14972 soybean|12v1|GLYMA11G14830 8368 14974 soybean|13v2|GLYMA11G14830_P1 8369 14974 soybean|12v1|GLYMA12G06770 8370 14975 soybean|13v2|GLYMA12G06770_P1 8371 14975 lupin|13v4|SRR520491.101225_P1 8372 14976 chickpea|13v2|GR403089_P1 8373 14977 basilicum|13v1|B10LEAF296739_P1 8374 14978 switchgrass|12v1|FL891053 8375 14979 maizel|13v2|A1973393_P1 8686 15224 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X144392_P1 8687 15225 sorghum|13v2|BG947008_T1 8688 15226 brachypodium|13v2|BRADI3G53290_P1 8689 15227 cenchrus|13v1|EB662826_P1 8690 15228 sorghum|13v2|AW284830_P1 8928 15435 foxtail_millet|13v2I|SRR350548X142459_P1 8929 15436 rice|13v2|U37978_P1 8930 15437 brachypodium|13v2|BRADI2G04130_P1 8931 15438 fescue|13v1|DT698307_P1 8932 15439 lolium|13v1|SRR029314X10387_P1 8933 15440 rice|13v2|AB060277_P1 8934 15441 sorghum|13v2|CD203908_P1 8935 15442 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X101163_P1 8936 15443 maize|13v2|A1783320_P1 8937 15444 brachypodium|13v2|BRADI2G34470_P1 8938 15445 cenchrus|13v1|EB654978_T1 8939 15446 cacao|13v1|CU505404_P1 8940 15447 grape|13v1|GSVIVT01024573001_P1 8941 15448 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.146009_P1 8942 15449 grape|13v1|GSVIVT01032677001_P1 8943 15450 ginseng|13v1|JK984772_P1 8944 15451 ginseng|13v1|SRR547977.113440_P1 8945 15452 gossypium_raimondii|13v1|BE054298_P1 8946 15453 ginseng|13v1|SRR547986.158503_T1 8947 15454 sorghum|13v2|BM325215_P1 9272 15723 switchgrass|12v1|FL714538 9273 15724 foxtail_millet|13v2|SRR350548X111433_P1 9274 15725 sorghum|13v2|BM323764_P1 9275 15726 Provided are the identified genes, their annotation, organism and polynucleotide and polypeptide sequence identifiers. “polyn.” = polynucleotide; “polyp.” = polypeptide.

Example 2 Identification of Homologous (e.g., Orthologous) Sequences that Increase Yield, Fiber Yield, Fiber Quality, Growth Rate, Biomass, Oil Content, Vigor, ABST, and/or NUE of a Plant

The concepts of orthology and paralogy have recently been applied to functional characterizations and classifications on the scale of whole-genome comparisons. Orthologs and paralogs constitute two major types of homologs: The first evolved from a common ancestor by specialization, and the latter are related by duplication events. It is assumed that paralogs arising from ancient duplication events are likely to have diverged in function while true orthologs are more likely to retain identical function over evolutionary time.

To further investigate and identify putative orthologs of the genes affecting plant yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, oil yield, oil content, seed yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, abiotic stress tolerance, and fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, all sequences were aligned using the BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). Sequences sufficiently similar were tentatively grouped. These putative orthologs were further organized under a Phylogram—a branching diagram (tree) assumed to be a representation of the evolutionary relationships among the biological taxa. Putative ortholog groups were analyzed as to their agreement with the phylogram and in cases of disagreements these ortholog groups were broken accordingly.

Expression data was analyzed and the EST libraries were classified using a fixed vocabulary of custom terms such as developmental stages (e.g., genes showing similar expression profile through development with up regulation at specific stage, such as at the seed filling stage) and/or plant organ (e.g., genes showing similar expression profile across their organs with up regulation at specific organs such as seed). The annotations from all the ESTs clustered to a gene were analyzed statistically by comparing their frequency in the cluster versus their abundance in the database, allowing the construction of a numeric and graphic expression profile of that gene, which is termed “digital expression”. The rationale of using these two complementary methods with methods of phenotypic association studies of QTLs, SNPs and phenotype expression correlation is based on the assumption that true orthologs are likely to retain identical function over evolutionary time. These methods provide different sets of indications on function similarities between two homologous genes, similarities in the sequence level -identical amino acids in the protein domains and similarity in expression profiles.

The search and identification of homologous genes involves the screening of sequence information available, for example, in public databases such as the DNA Database of Japan (DDBJ), Genbank, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Nucleic Acid Sequence Database (EMBL) or versions thereof or the MIPS database. A number of different search algorithms have been developed, including but not limited to the suite of programs referred to as BLAST programs. There are five implementations of BLAST, three designed for nucleotide sequence queries (BLASTN, BLASTX, and TBLASTX) and two designed for protein sequence queries (BLASTP and TBLASTN) (Coulson, Trends in Biotechnology: 76-80, 1994; Birren et al., Genome Analysis, I: 543, 1997). Such methods involve alignment and comparison of sequences. The BLAST algorithm calculates percent sequence identity and performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between the two sequences. The software for performing BLAST analysis is publicly available through the National Centre for Biotechnology Information. Other such software or algorithms are GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA and TFASTA. GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol. Biol. 48: 443-453, 1970) to find the alignment of two complete sequences that maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps.

The homologous genes may belong to the same gene family. The analysis of a gene family may be carried out using sequence similarity analysis. To perform this analysis one may use standard programs for multiple alignments e.g. Clustal W. A neighbour-joining tree of the proteins homologous to the genes in this invention may be used to provide an overview of structural and ancestral relationships. Sequence identity may be calculated using an alignment program as described above. It is expected that other plants will carry a similar functional gene (ortholog) or a family of similar genes and those genes will provide the same preferred phenotype as the genes presented here. Advantageously, these family members may be useful in the methods of the invention. Example of other plants are included here but not limited to, barley (Hordeum vulgare), Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), maize (Zea mays), cotton (Gossypium), Oilseed rape (Brassica napus), Rice (Oryza sativa), Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Soybean (Glycine max), Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), Wheat (Triticum aestivum).

The above-mentioned analyses for sequence homology can be carried out on a full-length sequence, but may also be based on a comparison of certain regions such as conserved domains. The identification of such domains, would also be well within the realm of the person skilled in the art and would involve, for example, a computer readable format of the nucleic acids of the present invention, the use of alignment software programs and the use of publicly available information on protein domains, conserved motifs and boxes. This information is available in the PRODOM (biochem (dot) ucl (dot) ac (dot) uk/bsm/dbbrowser/protocol/prodomqry (dot) html), PR (pir (dot) Georgetown (dot) edu/) or Pfam (sanger (dot) ac (dot) uk/Software/Pfam/) database. Sequence analysis programs designed for motif searching may be used for identification of fragments, regions and conserved domains as mentioned above. Preferred computer programs include, but are not limited to, MEME, SIGNALSCAN, and GENESCAN.

A person skilled in the art may use the homologous sequences provided herein to find similar sequences in other species and other organisms. Homologues of a protein encompass, peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides, proteins and enzymes having amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions relative to the unmodified protein in question and having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodified protein from which they are derived. To produce such homologues, amino acids of the protein may be replaced by other amino acids having similar properties (conservative changes, such as similar hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, antigenicity, propensity to form or break a-helical structures or 3-sheet structures). Conservative substitution tables are well known in the art (see for example Creighton (1984) Proteins. W.H. Freeman and Company). Homologues of a nucleic acid encompass nucleic acids having nucleotide substitutions, deletions and/or insertions relative to the unmodified nucleic acid in question and having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodified nucleic acid from which they are derived.

Polynucleotides and polypeptides with significant homology to the identified genes described in Table 1 (Example 1 above) were identified from the databases using BLAST software with the Blastp and tBlastn algorithms as filters for the first stage, and the needle (EMBOSS package) or Frame+ algorithm alignment for the second stage. Local identity (Blast alignments) was defined with a very permissive cutoff—60% Identity on a span of 60% of the sequences lengths because it is used only as a filter for the global alignment stage. The default filtering of the Blast package was not utilized (by setting the parameter “−F F”).

In the second stage, homologs were defined based on a global identity of at least 80% to the core gene polypeptide sequence. Two distinct forms for finding the optimal global alignment for protein or nucleotide sequences were used in this application:

1. Between Two Proteins (Following the Blastp Filter):

EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm with the following modified parameters: gapopen=8 gapextend=2. The rest of the parameters were unchanged from the default options described hereinabove.

2. Between a Protein Sequence and a Nucleotide Sequence (Following the Tblastn Filter):

GenCore 6.0 OneModel application utilizing the Frame+ algorithm with the following parameters: model=frame+_p2n.model mode=qglobal -q=protein. sequence -db=nucleotide.sequence. The rest of the parameters are unchanged from the default options described hereinabove.

The query polypeptide sequences were the sequences listed in Table 1 above, and the identified orthologous and homologous sequences having at least 80% global sequence identity to said sequences are provided in Table 2, below. These homologous genes are expected to increase plant yield, seed yield, oil yield, oil content, growth rate, photosynthetic capacity, fiber yield, fiber quality, biomass, vigor, ABST and/or NUE of a plant.

Lengthy table referenced here US20180230483A1-20180816-T00001 Please refer to the end of the specification for access instructions.

The output of the functional genomics approach described herein is a set of genes highly predicted to improve yield and/or other agronomic important traits such as growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield and/or quality, biomass, growth rate, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency of a plant by increasing their expression. Although each gene is predicted to have its own impact, modifying the mode of expression of more than one gene is expected to provide an additive or synergistic effect on the plant yield and/or other agronomic important yields performance. Altering the expression of each gene described here alone or set of genes together increases the overall yield and/or other agronomic important traits, hence expects to increase agricultural productivity.

Example 3 Production of Barley Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis Using 44K Barley Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Barley oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 47,500 Barley genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 25 different Barley accessions were analyzed. Among them, 13 accessions encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Four tissues at different developmental stages [meristem, flower, booting spike, stem], representing different plant characteristics were sampled and RNA was extracted as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”.

For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3 Barley transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Booting spike at flowering stage under normal 1 conditions Flowering spike at flowering stage under normal 2 conditions Meristem at flowering stage under normal conditions 3 Stem at flowering stage under normal conditions 4 Provided are the identification (ID) letters of each of the Barley expression sets.

Barley yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—13 Barley accessions in 4 repetitive blocks (named A, B, C, and D), each containing 4 plants per plot were grown at net house under normal conditions as recommended for commercial growth [normal growth conditions included irrigation given 2-3 times a week, and fertilization given in the first 1.5 months of the growth period]; under low Nitrogen (80% percent less Nitrogen); or under drought stress (cycles of drought and re-irrigating were conducted throughout the whole experiment, overall 40% less water were given in the drought treatment). Plants were phenotyped on a daily basis following the standard descriptor of barley (Table 4, below). Harvest was conducted while 50% of the spikes were dry to avoid spontaneous release of the seeds. Plants were separated to the vegetative part and spikes, of them, 5 spikes were threshed (grains were separated from the glumes) for additional grain analysis such as size measurement, grain count per spike and grain yield per spike. All material was oven dried and the seeds were threshed manually from the spikes prior to measurement of the seed characteristics (weight and size) using scanning and image analysis. The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

TABLE 4 Barley standard descriptors Trait Parameter Range Description Growth habit Scoring 1-9 Prostrate (1) or Erect (9) Hairiness of Scoring P (Presence)/A Absence (1) or Presence (2) basal leaves (Absence) Stem Scoring 1-5 Green (1), Basal only or Half or more pigmentation (5) Days to Days Days from sowing to emergence of Flowering awns Plant height Centimeter (cm) Height from ground level to top of the longest spike excluding awns Spikes per plant Number Terminal Counting Spike length Centimeter (cm) Terminal Counting 5 spikes per plant Grains per spike Number Terminal Counting 5 spikes per plant Vegetative dry Gram Oven-dried for 48 hours at 70° C. weight Spikes dry Gram Oven-dried for 48 hours at 30° C. weight

At the end of the experiment (50% of the spikes were dry) all spikes from plots within blocks A-D were collected, and the following measurements were performed:

(i) Grains per spike—The total number of grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed was counted. The average grain per spike was calculated by dividing the total grain number by the number of spikes.

(ii) Grain average size (cm)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed were scanned and images were analyzed using the digital imaging system. Grain scanning was done using Brother scanner (model DCP-135), at the 200 dpi resolution and analyzed with Image J software. The average grain size was calculated by dividing the total grain size by the total grain number.

(iii) Grain average weight (mgr)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed were counted and weight. The average weight was calculated by dividing the total weight by the total grain number.

(iv) Grain yield per spike (gr) (=seed yield of 5 spikes)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed were weight. The grain yield was calculated by dividing the total weight by the spike number.

(v) Spike length analysis—The five chosen spikes per plant were measured using measuring tape excluding the awns.

(vi) Spike number analysis—The spikes per plant were counted.

Additional parameters were measured as follows:

Growth habit scoring—At growth stage 10 (booting), each of the plants was scored for its growth habit nature. The scale that was used was “1” for prostate nature till “9” for erect.

Hairiness of basal leaves—At growth stage 5 (leaf sheath strongly erect; end of tillering), each of the plants was scored for its hairiness nature of the leaf before the last. The scale that was used was “1” for prostate nature till “9” for erect.

Plant height—At harvest stage (50% of spikes were dry), each of the plants was measured for its height using measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest spike excluding awns.

Days to flowering—Each of the plants was monitored for flowering date. Days of flowering was calculated from sowing date till flowering date.

Stem pigmentation—At growth stage 10 (booting), each of the plants was scored for its stem color. The scale that was used was “1” for green till “5” for full purple.

Vegetative dry weight and spike yield—At the end of the experiment (50% of the spikes were dry) all spikes and vegetative material from plots within blocks A-D were collected. The biomass and spikes weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours;

Spike yield per plant=total spike weight per plant (gr) after drying at 30° C. in oven for 48 hours.

TABLE 5 Barley correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Grain weight [milligrams] 1 Grains size [mm²] 2 Grains per spike [numbers] 3 Growth habit [scores 1-9] 4 Hairiness of basal leaves [scoring 1-2] 5 Plant height (cm) 6 Seed yield of 5 spikes [gr/spike] 7 Spike length [cm] 8 Spikes per plant [numbers] 9 Stem pigmentation [scoring 1-5] 10 Vegetative dry weight [gram] 11 Days to flowering [days] 12 Provided are the Barley correlated parameters (vectors).

Experimental Results

13 different Barley accessions were grown and characterized for 12 parameters as described above. The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 6 and 7 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome expression sets (Table 3) and the average parameters was conducted. Follow, results were integrated to the database (Table 8 below).

TABLE 6 Measured parameters of correlation Ids in Barley accessions Ecotype/ Treat- ment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 1 35.05 28.06 28.76 17.87 41.22 29.73 25.22 2 0.27 0.23 0.24 0.17 0.29 0.28 0.22 3 20.23 17.98 17.27 17.73 14.47 16.78 12.12 4 2.60 2.00 1.92 3.17 4.33 2.69 3.60 5 1.53 1.33 1.69 1.08 1.42 1.69 1.30 6 134.27 130.50 138.77 114.58 127.75 129.38 103.89 7 3.56 2.54 2.58 1.57 3.03 2.52 1.55 8 12.04 10.93 11.83 9.90 11.68 11.53 8.86 9 48.85 48.27 37.42 61.92 33.27 41.69 40.00 10 1.13 2.50 1.69 1.75 2.33 2.31 1.70 11 78.87 66.14 68.49 53.39 68.30 74.17 35.35 12 62.40 64.08 65.15 58.92 63.00 70.54 52.80 Table 6. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (1-7) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 5).

TABLE 7 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treatment Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 1 34.99 20.58 27.50 37.13 29.56 19.58 2 0.28 0.19 0.22 0.27 0.27 0.18 3 14.07 21.54 12.10 13.40 15.28 17.07 4 3.50 3.00 3.67 2.47 3.50 3.00 5 1.19 1.00 1.17 1.60 1.08 1.17 6 121.63 126.80 99.83 121.40 118.42 117.17 7 2.62 2.30 1.68 2.68 2.35 1.67 8 11.22 11.11 8.58 10.18 10.51 9.80 9 40.63 62.00 49.33 50.60 43.09 51.40 10 2.19 2.30 1.83 3.07 1.58 2.17 11 58.33 62.23 38.32 68.31 56.15 42.68 12 60.88 58.10 53.00 60.40 64.58 56.00 Table 7. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (8-13) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 5).

TABLE 8 Correlation between the expression level of the selected polynucleotides of the invention and their homologues in specific tissues or developmental stages and the phenotypic performance across Barley accessions Gene P Exp. Corr. Gene P Exp. Corr. Name R value set Set ID Name R value set Set ID LGP22 0.82 3.46E−03 2 4 MGP3 0.74 8.95E−03 1 2 MGP3 0.71 1.42E−02 1 1 MGP3 0.78 5.01E−03 3 2 Table 8. Provided are the correlations (R) and p-values (P) between the expression levels of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues or developmental stages (Expression sets) and the phenotypic performance in various yield (seed yield, oil yield, oil content), biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.) Expression (Exp.)] Corr. Vector = correlation vector specified in Tables 5, 6 and 7 Exp. Set = expression set specified in Table 3.

Example 4 Production of Barley Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis Using 60K Barley Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis comparing between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a Barley oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60K Barley genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 15 different Barley accessions were analyzed. Among them, 10 accessions encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Analyzed Barley tissues—six tissues at different developmental stages [leaf, meristem, root tip, adventitious root, booting spike and stem], representing different plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Tables 9-11 below.

TABLE 9 Barley transcriptome expression sets (set 1) Expression Set Set ID Root at vegetative stage under low N conditions 1 Root at vegetative stage under normal conditions 2 leaf at vegetative stage under low N conditions 3 leaf at vegetative stage under normal conditions 4 root tip at vegetative stage under low N conditions 5 root tip at vegetative stage under normal 6 conditions Provided are the expression sets IDs at the vegetative stage.

TABLE 10 Barley transcriptome expression sets under normal and low nitrogen conditions (set 2) Expression Set Set ID Booting spike under low nitrogen 1 conditions Booting spike under normal conditions 2 Leaf under low nitrogen conditions 3 Leaf under normal conditions 4 Stem under low nitrogen conditions 5 Stem under normal conditions 6 Provided are the barley transcriptome expression sets under normal and low nitrogen conditions at the reproductive stage.

TABLE 11 Barley transcriptome expression sets under drought and recovery conditions Expression Set Set ID booting spike at reproductive stage under drought 1 conditions leaf at reproductive stage under drought conditions 2 leaf at vegetative stage under drought conditions 3 meristems at vegetative stage under drought conditions 4 root tip at vegetative stage under drought conditions 5 root tip at vegetative stage under recovery drought 6 Provided are the expression sets IDs at the reproductive and vegetative stages.

Barley yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—15 Barley accessions in 5 repetitive blocks, each containing 5 plants per pot were grown at net house. Three different treatments were applied: plants were regularly fertilized and watered during plant growth until harvesting as recommended for commercial growth under normal conditions [normal growth conditions included irrigation 2-3 times a week and fertilization given in the first 1.5 months of the growth period]; under low Nitrogen (80% percent less Nitrogen); or under drought stress (cycles of drought and re-irrigating were conducted throughout the whole experiment, overall 40% less water as compared to normal conditions were given in the drought treatment). Plants were phenotyped on a daily basis following the standard descriptor of barley (Tables 12 and 13, below). Harvest was conducted while all the spikes were dry. All material was oven dried and the seeds were threshed manually from the spikes prior to measurement of the seed characteristics (weight and size) using scanning and image analysis. The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Grains number—The total number of grains from all spikes that were manually threshed was counted. Number of grains per plot was counted.

Grain weight (gr.)—At the end of the experiment all spikes of the pots were collected. The total grains from all spikes that were manually threshed were weighted. The grain yield was calculated by per plot.

Spike length and width analysis—At the end of the experiment the length and width of five chosen spikes per plant were measured using measuring tape excluding the awns.

Spike number analysis—The spikes per plant or per plot were counted.

Plant height—Each of the plants was measured for its height using measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest spike excluding awns at two time points at the Vegetative growth (30 days after sowing) and at harvest.

Spike weight—The biomass and spikes weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours at two time points at the Vegetative growth (30 days after sowing) and at harvest.

Root dry weight=total weight of the root portion underground after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours at harvest.

Root/Shoot Ratio—The Root/Shoot Ratio was performed using Formula XXII above.

Total No of tillers—all tillers were counted per plot at two time points at the Vegetative growth (30 days after sowing) and at harvest.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at time of flowering. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Root FW (gr.), root length (cm) and No. of lateral roots—3 plants per plot were selected for measurement of root fresh weight (FW), root length and for counting the number of lateral roots formed.

Shoot FW—weights of 3 plants per plot were recorded at different time-points.

Relative water content—Fresh weight (FW) of three leaves from three plants each from different seed IDs was immediately recorded; then leaves were soaked for 8 hours in distilled water at room temperature in the dark, and the turgid weight (TW) was recorded. Total dry weight (DW) was recorded after drying the leaves at 60° C. to a constant weight. Relative water content (RWC) was calculated according to Formula I above.

Harvest Index (for barley)—The harvest index was performed using Formula XVIII above.

Relative growth rate: the relative growth rate (RGR) of Plant Height (Formula III), SPAD (Formula IV) and number of tillers (Formula V) were calculated according to the indicated Formulas described above.

TABLE 12 Barley correlated parameters (vectors) under low nitrogen and normal conditions (set 1) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Lateral Roots (number)-Normal 1 Leaf Area (mm²)-Normal 2 Leaf Number-TP4-Low N 3 Max Length (mm)-Normal 4 Max Width (mm)-Normal 5 Max Length (mm)-TP4-Low N 6 Max Width (mm)-TP4-Low N 7 No of lateral roots-Low N-TP2 8 Num Leaves-Normal 9 Num Seeds-Normal 10 Num Spikes per plot-Normal 11 Num Tillers per plant-Normal 12 Plant Height (cm)-TP1-Normal 13 Plant Height (cm)-TP2-Normal 14 Plant Height (cm)-Low N-TP1 15 Plant Height (cm)-Low N-TP2 16 Root FW (g)-Normal 17 Root Length (cm)-Normal 18 Root FW (g)-Low N-TP2 19 Root length (cm)-Low N-TP2 20 SPAD-Normal 21 SPAD-Low N-TP2 22 Seed Yield (gr)-Normal 23 Seed Number (per plot)-Low N 24 Seed Yield (gr)-Low N 25 Shoot FW (g)-Normal 26 Spike Length (cm)-Normal 27 Spike Width (cm)-Normal 28 Spike weight per plot (g)-Normal 29 Spike Length (cm)-Low N 30 Spike Width (cm)-Low N 31 Spike total weight (per plot)-Low N 32 Total Tillers per plot (number)-Normal 33 Total Leaf Area (mm²)-TP4-Low N 34 Total No of Spikes per plot-Low N 35 Total No of tillers per plot-Low N 36 shoot FW (gr)-Low N-TP2 37 Table 12. Provided are the barley correlated parameters. TP = time point; DW = dry weight; FW = fresh weight; Low N = Low Nitrogen.

TABLE 13 Barley correlated parameters (vectors) for maintenance of performance under normal conditions (set 2) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Grain Perimeter (mm) 1 Grain area (cm²) 2 Grain length (mm) 3 Grain width (mm) 4 Grains DW/Shoots DW (ratio) 5 Grains per plot (number) 6 Grains weight per plant (gr) 7 Grains weight per plot (gr) 8 Plant Height (cm) 9 Roots DW (gr) 10 Row number (number) 11 Spikes FW (Harvest) (gr) 12 Spikes num (number) 13 Tillering (Harvest) (number) 14 Vegetative DW (Harvest) (gr) 15 percent of reproductive tillers (%) 16 shoot/root ratio (ratio) 17 Table 13. Provided are the barley correlated parameters. “ “DW” = dry weight; “ratio”-maintenance of phenotypic performance under drought in comparison to normal conditions.

TABLE 14 Barley correlated parameters (vectors) under drought conditions Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Chlorophyll levels 1 Dry weight harvest (gr.) 2 Dry weight vegetative growth (gr.) 3 Fresh weight (gr.) 4 Grain number 5 Grain weight (gr.) 6 Harvest index 7 Heading date 8 Height Relative growth rate 9 Number of tillers Relative growth rate 10 Plant height T1 (cm) 11 Plant height T2 (cm) 12 RBiH/BiH (root/shoot ratio, 13 Formula XXII hereinabove) Relative water content 14 Root dry weight (gr.) 15 Root fresh weight (gr.) 16 Root length (cm) 17 SPAD Relative growth rate 18 Spike length (cm) 19 Spike number per plant 20 Spike weight per plant (gr.) 21 Spike width (cm) 22 Tillers number T1 (number) 23 Tillers number T2 (number) 24 Lateral root number (number) 25 Table 14. Provided are the barley correlated parameters. “TP” = time point; “DW” = dry weight; “FW” = fresh weight; “Low N” = Low Nitrogen; “Normal” = regular growth conditions. “Max” = maximum.

TABLE 15 Barley correlated parameters (vectors) for maintenance of performance under drought conditions Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Chlorophyll levels ratio 1 Dry weight at harvest ratio 2 Dry weight_vegetative growth ratio 3 Fresh weight ratio 4 Grain number ratio 5 Grain weight ratio 6 Harvest index ratio 7 Heading date ratio 8 Plant height ratio 9 Root/shoot ratio 10 Relative water content ratio 11 Root dry weight ratio 12 Root fresh weight ratio 13 Root length ratio 14 Spike length ratio 15 Spike number ratio 16 Spike weight per plant ratio 17 Spike width ratio 18 Tillers number ratio 19 lateral root number ratio 20 Table 15. Provided are the barley correlated parameters. “ “DW” = dry weight; “ratio”-maintenance of phenotypic performance under drought in comparison to normal conditions.

Experimental Results

15 different Barley accessions were grown and characterized for different parameters as described above. The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 16-24 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets and the average parameters was conducted (Tables 25-28). Follow, results were integrated to the database.

TABLE 16 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions (set 1) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 3 8.00 8.00 7.50 8.50 10.00 11.50 8.60 6.33 7.50 10.00 6 102.90 107.78 111.57 142.42 152.38 149.33 124.08 95.00 124.12 135.17 7 5.25 5.17 5.12 5.30 5.20 5.33 5.32 5.10 5.15 5.10 8 5.00 6.00 4.33 6.00 6.33 6.00 6.67 4.67 5.67 7.33 15 41.00 82.00 61.40 59.40 65.80 47.80 53.80 56.40 81.80 44.60 16 16.33 18.83 17.33 26.00 22.50 18.17 19.67 19.83 19.17 19.17 19 0.38 0.23 0.12 0.40 0.88 0.50 0.43 0.32 0.30 0.55 20 24.67 21.67 22.00 21.67 22.17 23.00 30.50 22.83 23.83 24.50 22 24.03 23.30 26.47 23.90 26.63 23.20 25.43 24.23 25.03 26.07 24 230.20 164.60 88.25 133.60 106.00 222.60 219.20 143.45 201.80 125.00 25 9.76 7.31 3.30 5.06 6.02 9.74 7.35 5.80 7.83 6.29 30 15.19 19.61 16.30 19.32 90.22 16.44 20.44 18.84 18.77 16.65 31 7.95 8.13 9.43 4.94 9.60 7.16 7.06 8.51 10.01 9.40 32 13.74 13.44 9.15 11.64 11.34 15.06 12.18 10.95 12.18 10.62 34 39.40 46.27 51.51 57.07 67.78 64.15 52.42 46.15 68.02 57.91 35 12.20 9.00 11.60 25.00 7.80 14.50 15.00 7.00 5.40 8.40 36 16.20 14.60 16.00 20.75 12.50 18.80 21.20 11.00 6.75 14.00 37 0.43 0.43 0.33 0.58 0.78 0.53 0.45 0.43 0.50 0.62 1 7.00 8.67 8.33 9.67 10.70 9.67 9.67 8.67 10.00 9.67 2 294.00 199.00 273.00 276.00 313.00 309.00 259.00 291.00 299.00 296.00 4 502.00 348.00 499.00 594.00 535.00 551.00 479.00 399.00 384.00 470.00 5 5.77 5.45 5.80 6.03 4.63 5.33 5.83 5.43 5.75 6.03 9 24.20 18.20 22.70 25.50 23.20 28.30 22.20 19.00 17.30 22.00 10 1090.00 510.00 242.00 582.00 621.00 1070.00 903.00 950.00 984.00 768.00 11 41.50 32.00 36.00 71.40 34.20 45.60 49.80 28.00 19.30 38.00 12 2.00 2.00 1.00 2.33 2.33 3.33 2.33 1.33 1.33 1.67 13 39.20 37.00 36.80 49.80 46.80 34.80 43.20 35.70 46.20 40.20 14 64.70 84.00 67.40 82.00 72.00 56.60 65.80 62.80 91.60 66.20 17 0.27 0.27 0.25 0.35 0.62 0.27 0.35 0.32 0.23 0.27 18 21.30 15.00 21.80 20.30 27.20 16.00 24.00 13.50 21.50 15.20 21 39.10 41.40 35.20 33.70 34.20 42.80 37.00 36.90 35.00 36.80 23 46.40 19.80 10.80 22.60 30.30 54.10 37.00 42.00 35.40 38.30 26 2.17 1.90 1.25 3.00 15 .60 3.02 2.58 1.75 2.18 1.82 27 16.50 19.20 18.30 20.40 17.20 19.10 20.30 21.70 16.50 16.10 28 9.54 9.05 8.25 6.55 10.50 8.83 7.38 10.40 10.20 10.30 29 69.40 39.40 34.90 50.30 60.80 79.10 62.70 60.00 55.90 59.70 33 46.70 41.60 40.00 48.80 34.60 48.60 49.20 29.00 27.50 38.80 Table 16

TABLE 17 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions under normal conditions (set 2) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 2.24 2.24 2.18 2.05 2.08 2.03 2.25 1.88 2 0.25 0.24 0.24 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.24 0.22 3 0.89 0.87 0.86 0.80 0.82 0.78 0.90 0.72 4 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.37 0.37 0.41 0.35 0.39 5 0.40 0.16 1.01 0.79 0.41 0.99 0.66 0.61 6 683.40 510.50 1093.50 767.60 621.00 1069.00 987.75 903.20 7 6.65 3.96 9.27 7.65 6.06 10.83 7.94 7.40 8 33.24 19.81 46.37 38.25 30.30 54.13 39.69 36.98 9 76.40 84.00 64.67 66.20 72.00 56.60 68.00 65.80 10 118.30 150.68 86.28 85.19 120.31 90.70 40.58 90.51 11 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 2.80 6.00 2.00 12 69.84 39.86 69.40 59.72 60.83 79.12 63.50 62.74 13 38.60 32.00 41.50 38.00 34.20 45.60 30.00 49.80 14 44.25 41.60 46.67 38.80 34.60 48.60 32.40 55.20 15 89.20 99.65 45.79 49.39 74.32 55.11 47.29 60.32 16 82.30 77.75 86.69 94.23 89.74 93.73 89.49 90.27 17 1.48 0.64 0.84 0.82 1.15 0.69 1.26 0.72 Table 17. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Barley accessions (line) under normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 18 Additional measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions under normal conditions (set 2) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 1 2.09 2.03 2.02 1.98 1.69 1.98 1.89 2 0.23 0.22 0.23 0.21 0.18 0.19 0.17 3 0.82 0.79 0.80 0.80 0.65 0.82 0.77 4 0.36 0.36 0.37 0.34 0.35 0.29 0.29 5 0.28 1.04 0.12 0.86 0.58 0.05 0.08 6 581.80 904.40 242.40 928.40 984.20 157.67 263.25 7 4.52 8.41 2.00 8.05 7.07 0.75 1.14 8 22.58 39.68 10.84 40.26 35.37 3.73 5.68 9 82.00 62.80 67.40 76.20 91.60 44.00 52.75 10 92.59 63.95 286.63 95.79 34.04 121.27 206.75 11 2.00 5.20 6.00 6.00 6.00 4.67 4.00 12 50.30 59.95 34.92 60.08 55.88 16.93 21.70 13 71.40 28.00 36.00 27.60 23.60 54.67 48.00 14 50.60 29.00 40.00 28.50 27.50 26.00 15 88.01 38.89 97.71 48.33 62.52 57.97 72.78 16 91.21 92.50 91.73 85.31 17 1.17 0.71 0.38 0.51 2.16 0.67 0.39 Table 18. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Barley accessions (line) under normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 19 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions) under low nitrogen conditions (set 2) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 2.28 2.33 2.28 2.08 2.13 1.96 2.09 1.88 2 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.24 0.25 0.23 0.23 0.21 3 0.90 0.92 0.93 0.82 0.86 0.76 0.83 0.73 4 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.35 0.36 5 0.39 0.42 1.25 0.69 0.43 0.87 0.77 0.53 6 153.20 164.60 230.20 125.00 100.00 222.60 159.40 219.20 7 1.34 1.46 1.95 1.26 1.13 1.95 1.28 1.47 8 6.68 7.31 9.76 6.29 5.67 9.74 6.40 7.35 9 75.20 82.00 41.00 44.60 65.80 47.80 60.60 53.80 10 39.91 26.24 17.31 32.91 33.87 83.84 29.65 37.21 11 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 2.00 6.00 2.00 12 11.40 13.44 13.74 10.62 11.34 15.06 11.64 12.18 13 10.80 9.00 12.20 8.40 7.80 14.50 8.40 15.00 14 16.00 14.60 16.20 14.00 12.50 18.80 11.60 21.20 15 17.42 17.76 8.25 7.28 13.25 11.32 8.95 14.18 16 68.68 61.85 76.94 59.63 65.63 79.84 73.85 71.01 17 0.69 1.08 0.77 0.38 0.83 0.42 0.28 0.57 Table 19. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Barley accessions (line) under low N growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 20 Additional measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions) under low nitrogen conditions (set 2) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 1 2.19 1.88 2.03 2.11 1.77 2.00 1.90 2 0.23 0.20 0.22 0.23 0.19 0.19 0.17 3 0.86 0.73 0.81 0.85 0.68 0.81 0.79 4 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.36 0.29 0.27 5 0.34 0.87 0.15 0.58 0.76 0.05 0.07 6 133.60 134.40 88.25 174.25 201.80 86.67 61.60 7 0.98 1.16 0.92 1.33 1.57 0.29 0.22 8 5.06 5.43 4.62 6.67 7.83 1.44 1.12 9 59.40 56.40 61.40 65.60 81.80 69.00 57.40 10 44.38 14.46 41.54 23.75 20.87 49.69 54.02 11 2.00 5.20 6.00 6.00 6.00 2.00 2.00 12 11.64 8.76 9.15 12.42 12.18 5.68 5.04 13 25.00 7.00 11.60 7.60 5.40 16.40 12.00 14 23.50 11.00 16.00 10.75 6.75 35.00 15 15.68 6.42 55.92 11.54 10.88 58.92 17.05 16 95.83 64.87 68.75 74.24 81.40 37.14 17 0.60 0.55 2.88 1.36 0.89 2.49 0.40 Table 20. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Barley accessions (line) under low N growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 21 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions (1-8) under drought and recovery conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 41.33 33.57 36.57 40.50 45.07 39.73 38.33 36.17 2 6.15 5.05 3.20 3.28 4.76 3.55 4.52 3.38 3 0.21 0.21 0.17 4 1.90 1.52 1.17 1.95 1.90 1.22 1.75 1.58 5 170.00 267.50 111.00 205.33 153.60 252.50 288.40 274.50 6 5.55 9.80 3.55 7.20 5.28 7.75 9.92 10.25 7 0.47 0.66 0.53 0.69 0.53 0.69 0.69 0.75 8 75.00 71.00 65.00 66.75 90.00 90.00 9 0.27 0.86 0.73 0.88 0.40 0.94 0.70 0.71 10 0.07 0.10 0.06 0.07 0.16 0.06 0.10 0.05 11 33.33 27.00 31.33 34.17 31.33 30.33 28.67 38.67 12 46.00 52.80 35.00 38.00 45.20 48.00 37.67 41.20 13 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.01 14 80.60 53.40 55.87 43.21 69.78 45.49 76.51 15 77.52 60.19 27.13 18.62 117.42 70.72 37.34 25.56 16 2.07 1.48 1.12 1.87 1.67 1.68 1.62 0.85 17 21.67 20.33 22.00 24.00 20.67 18.33 21.00 20.33 18 0.09 −0.12 0.00 0.01 0.04 −0.07 0.01 0.00 19 16.70 16.85 13.27 13.55 14.19 15.64 15.66 17.49 20 4.20 4.36 7.60 8.44 4.92 3.43 6.90 5.80 21 17.72 24.24 18.20 18.00 19.50 15.00 23.40 28.16 22 8.64 9.07 7.82 7.32 8.74 7.62 6.98 8.05 23 2.00 2.00 1.67 1.67 2.00 1.67 2.33 1.00 24 11.68 9.04 10.92 10.16 10.32 8.78 13.00 7.44 25 8.33 8.67 7.33 7.67 6.67 6.67 7.67 6.67 Table 21.

TABLE 22 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions under drought and recovery conditions additional lines (9-15) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 1 42.13 31.77 33.47 42.37 42.27 36.77 40.63 2 5.67 3.31 2.65 5.12 6.86 3.11 3.74 3 0.25 0.13 0.19 0.22 4 1.88 1.73 1.00 0.90 0.90 1.43 0.83 5 348.50 358.00 521.39 71.50 160.13 376.67 105.00 6 8.50 14.03 17.52 2.05 5.38 11.00 2.56 7 0.60 0.81 0.87 0.29 0.44 0.78 0.41 8 90.00 90.00 81.60 90.00 9 0.77 0.80 0.92 0.39 0.88 −0.13 0.20 10 0.10 0.06 0.06 0.18 0.15 0.02 0.44 11 33.67 28.43 27.50 25.00 27.00 31.00 22.33 12 40.80 49.86 43.00 47.40 64.80 52.60 32.00 13 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.03 14 87.41 58.32 80.58 73.09 15 66.18 22.13 41.12 116.95 84.10 37.46 98.86 16 1.45 1.38 0.82 0.58 0.63 1.07 0.70 17 21.67 19.67 16.67 17.00 15.17 27.00 15.00 18 −0.06 0.04 0.05 0.00 −0.07 0.03 −0.06 19 16.00 18.31 17.42 14.23 14.81 16.54 12.72 20 8.55 9.67 5.42 3.05 4.07 3.72 3.21 21 21.96 33.03 34.80 11.73 18.78 21.00 9.88 22 6.06 6.73 9.55 7.84 7.81 8.35 5.47 23 2.33 3.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 24 13.92 11.00 6.78 8.45 9.15 5.12 16.13 25 6.00 8.67 7.67 6.33 7.00 7.00 6.67 Table 22.

TABLE 23 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions for maintenance of performance under drought conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 0.98 0.72 1.3 1.06 1.03 0.95 0.82 0.93 2 0.61 0.45 0.59 0.67 0.41 0.54 0.75 0.65 3 0.93 0.71 0 0 0 0.65 0 0.92 4 0.6 0.5 0.47 0.68 0.46 0.47 0.58 0.62 5 0.12 0.22 0.11 0.19 0.17 0.21 0.22 0.24 6 0.08 0.17 0.06 0.14 0.15 0.14 0.15 0.2 7 0.54 0.79 0.58 0.75 0.7 0.77 0.75 0.83 8 0 1.12 1.3 0 1 1.06 1.37 1.22 9 0.51 0.61 0.67 0.72 0.61 0.59 0.7 0.63 9 0.51 0.61 0.67 0.72 0.61 0.59 0.7 0.63 10 1.55 0.97 1.12 0.56 1.72 1.97 0.67 0.96 11 0.78 0.58 0.9 0 0.65 0.56 0.78 0.83 12 0.94 0.44 0.66 0.37 0.71 1.06 0.5 0.62 13 1.1 1 1.02 1.67 0.8 0.81 1.13 0.34 14 0.66 0.74 1.16 0.78 0.76 0.76 0.68 0.77 15 0.83 0.82 0.86 0.77 0.78 0.94 0.83 0.89 16 0.73 0.96 1.11 1.3 0.83 0.62 0.87 1.12 17 0.16 0.23 0.19 0.23 0.25 0.18 0.23 0.34 18 0.75 0.77 0.68 0.67 0.87 0.66 0.75 0.74 19 1.87 1.57 1.72 1.8 1.6 1.61 1.63 1.59 19 1.87 1.57 1.72 1.8 1.6 1.61 1.63 1.59 20 1.09 0.74 0.79 0.88 0.71 0.65 0.85 0.77 Table 23. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Barley accessions (line) for maintenance of performance under drought (calculated as % of change under drought vs normal growth conditions). Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 24 Additional measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions for maintenance of performance under drought conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 1 0.93 0.8 0.94 0.96 1.01 0.93 1.03 2 0.77 0.8 0.68 0.42 0.65 0.52 0.46 3 1.01 0 0 0.94 0 0.7 0 4 0.74 0.81 0.72 0.37 0.4 5 0.25 0.58 0.43 0.1 0.1 0.28 0.43 6 0.14 0.47 0.32 0.07 0.07 0.2 0.32 7 0.67 0.92 0.93 0.41 0.5 0.87 0.82 8 0 1.2 1 9 0.66 0.87 0.86 0.64 0.79 0.56 0.51 9 0.66 0.87 0.86 0.64 0.79 0.56 0.51 10 1.14 1.08 1.38 1.84 1.31 2.06 1.46 11 0.5 0 0 0.78 0.55 12 0.88 0.87 0.94 0.77 0.85 1.06 0.68 13 0.85 0.58 0.07 1.06 0.3 0.44 0.93 14 1.12 0.56 0.42 0.82 0.43 0.71 0.8 15 0.78 0.94 0.88 0.77 0.86 0.97 0.78 16 1.09 1.09 0.92 0.49 0.65 0.99 0.52 17 0.22 0.68 0.55 0.18 0.18 0.27 0.25 18 0.74 0.86 0.85 0.79 0.72 0.72 0.88 19 1.75 1.33 1.62 1.33 1.4 1.22 1.96 19 1.75 1.33 1.62 1.33 1.4 1.22 1.96 20 0.58 0.96 0.88 0.95 0.78 0.66 0.87 Table 24. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Barley accessions (line) for maintenance of performance under drought (calculated as % of change under drought vs normal growth conditions). Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 25 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen, normal or drought stress conditions across Barley accessions (set 1) Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP20 0.74 1.42E−02 5 30 LGP20 0.90 4.15E−04 5 19 LGP20 0.74 1.43E−02 5 3 LGP20 0.76 1.00E−02 5 37 LGP20 0.71 2.05E−02 5 6 LGP21 0.81 1.49E−02 6 17 LGP21 0.85 7.00E−03 4 21 LGP21 0.76 1.74E−02 2 18 LGP21 0.92 4.54E−04 2 26 LGP21 0.85 3.81E−03 2 17 LGP21 0.82 7.25E−03 3 19 LGP21 0.86 3.15E−03 3 3 LGP21 0.86 2.94E−03 3 37 LGP21 0.76 1.73E−02 3 6 LGP22 0.74 3.60E−02 6 33 LGP22 0.78 2.17E−02 6 12 LGP22 0.72 1.85E−02 5 32 LGP22 0.75 2.00E−02 2 26 LGP83 0.75 2.11E−02 3 32 MGP3 0.80 1.80E−02 6 21 MGP3 0.78 2.14E−02 6 12 MGP3 0.72 2.86E−02 3 7 MGP3 0.72 2.81E−02 3 35 Table 25. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal, low nitrogen and drought conditions across barley varieties. P = p value.

TABLE 26 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen and normal growth conditions across Barley accessions (set 2) Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP22 0.75 1.32E−02 5 15 MGP3 0.70 2.33E−02 2 11 MGP3 0.73 1.65E−02 3 9 MGP3 0.81 4.46E−03 6 11 MGP3 0.86 1.29E−03 5 17 MGP3 0.71 2.02E−02 4 5 MGP3 0.79 6.70E−03 4 11 MGP3 0.92 1.99E−04 1 17 Table 26. Correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID” correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters Table above. “Exp. Set” Expression set. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

TABLE 27 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under drought stress conditions across Barley accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP20 0.73 9.89E−02 1 11 LGP20 0.78 2.31E−02 3 20 LGP20 0.75 3.21E−02 5 23 LGP20 0.83 4.21E−02 5 8 LGP20 0.86 2.70E−03 4 20 LGP20 0.82 6.90E−03 4 23 LGP21 0.80 5.74E−02 1 10 LGP21 0.72 1.04E−01 1 9 LGP21 0.73 6.35E−02 2 25 LGP21 0.77 1.44E−02 4 20 LGP21 0.74 2.36E−02 4 18 LGP22 0.73 1.03E−01 1 19 LGP22 0.83 1.12E−02 3 22 LGP22 0.74 3.54E−02 5 23 LGP22 0.80 9.95E−03 4 20 LGP22 0.75 2.08E−02 4 23 LGP22 0.71 3.20E−02 4 24 LGP83 0.73 1.03E−01 1 22 LGP83 0.75 8.58E−02 1 18 LGP83 0.71 4.89E−02 3 13 LGP83 0.71 7.35E−02 2 17 LGP83 0.83 1.96E−02 2 11 LGP83 0.79 2.01E−02 5 19 MGP3 0.77 7.54E−02 1 7 MGP3 0.82 4.43E−02 1 12 MGP3 0.85 3.21E−02 1 25 MGP3 0.74 9.14E−02 1 6 MGP3 0.74 9.23E−02 1 21 MGP3 0.83 1.04E−02 3 20 MGP3 0.85 7.17E−03 3 12 MGP3 0.80 9.31E−03 6 19 MGP3 0.80 1.02E−02 6 2 MGP3 0.74 2.38E−02 6 15 MGP3 0.78 3.89E−02 2 22 MGP3 0.78 3.67E−02 2 5 MGP3 0.73 6.49E−02 2 6 MGP3 0.92 3.74E−03 2 13 MGP3 0.74 3.60E−02 5 12 MGP3 0.81 1.51E−02 5 15 Table 27. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal, low nitrogen and drought conditions across barley varieties. P = p value.

TABLE 28 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance of maintenance of performance under drought conditions across Barley accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP20 0.78 6.53E−02 1 3 LGP20 0.75 3.11E−02 5 6 LGP20 0.75 3.38E−02 5 5 LGP20 0.78 1.23E−02 4 2 LGP21 0.91 1.06E−02 1 16 LGP21 0.72 6.86E−02 2 20 LGP21 0.79 1.21E−02 4 2 LGP22 0.82 7.19E−03 4 2 LGP83 0.71 3.19E−02 6 16 LGP83 0.83 2.22E−02 2 16 LGP83 0.76 2.94E−02 5 18 MGP3 0.92 8.43E−03 1 6 MGP3 0.91 1.10E−02 1 17 MGP3 0.89 1.86E−02 1 15 MGP3 0.79 6.40E−02 1 20 MGP3 0.90 1.58E−02 1 5 MGP3 0.96 2.23E−03 1 9 MGP3 0.76 7.71E−02 1 18 MGP3 0.80 5.49E−02 1 7 MGP3 0.71 5.03E−02 3 16 MGP3 0.77 2.67E−02 3 17 MGP3 0.84 1.90E−02 3 8 MGP3 0.73 2.60E−02 6 18 MGP3 0.71 3.16E−02 6 3 MGP3 0.75 5.16E−02 2 10 MGP3 0.89 1.80E−02 5 8 MGP3 0.75 5.24E−02 5 11 Table 28. Correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID” correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters Table above. “Exp. Set” Expression set. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

Example 5 Production of Barley Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis Using 60K Barley Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Barley oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 33,777 Barley genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 55 different Barley accessions were analyzed. Same accessions were subjected to RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Four tissues at different developmental stages [leaf, flag leaf, spike and peduncle], representing different plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extracted as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”.

For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 29 below.

TABLE 29 Barley transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Flag leaf at booting stage under 1 normal conditions Spike at grain filling stage under 2 normal conditions Spike at booting stage under 3 normal conditions stem at booting stage under 4 normal conditions Table 29: Provided are the identification (ID) letters of each of the Barley expression sets.

Barley yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—55 Barley accessions in 5 repetitive blocks (named A, B, C, D and E), each containing 48 plants per plot were grown in field. Plants were phenotyped on a daily basis. Harvest was conducted while 50% of the spikes were dry to avoid spontaneous release of the seeds. All material was oven dried and the seeds were threshed manually from the spikes prior to measurement of the seed characteristics (weight and size) using scanning and image analysis. The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

At the end of the experiment (50% of the spikes were dry) all spikes from plots within blocks A-E were collected, and the following measurements were performed:

% reproductive tiller percentage—The percentage of reproductive tillers at flowering calculated using Formula XXVI above.

1000 grain weight (gr)—At the end of the experiment all grains from all plots were collected and weighted and the weight of 1000 were calculated.

Avr. (average) seedling dry weight (gr)—Weight of seedling after drying/number of plants.

Avr. shoot dry weight (gr)—Weight of Shoot at flowering stage after drying/number of plants.

Avr. spike weight (g)—Calculate spikes dry weight after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours, at harvest/num of spikes.

Spike weight—The biomass and spikes weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight—total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours at two time points at the Vegetative growth (30 days after sowing) and at harvest.

Vegetative dry weight (g)—Total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours. The biomass weight of each plot was measured and divided by the number of plants.

Field spike length (cm)—Measure spike length without the Awns at harvest.

Grain Area (cm²)—A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Length and Grain width (cm)—A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths and width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Perimeter (cm)—A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain perimeter was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grains per spike—The total number of grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed was counted. The average grain per spike was calculated by dividing the total grain number by the number of spikes.

Grain yield per plant (gr)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed was weighted. The grain yield was calculated by dividing the total weight by the plants number.

Grain yield per spike (gr)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed was weighted. The grain yield was calculated by dividing the total weight by the spike number.

Growth habit scoring—At growth stage 10 (booting), each of the plants was scored for its growth habit nature. The scale that was used was “1” for prostate nature till “9” for erect.

Harvest Index (for barley)—The harvest index was calculated using Formula XVIII above.

Number of days to anthesis—Calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot reach anthesis.

Number of days to maturity—Calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot reach maturity.

Plant height—At harvest stage (50% of spikes were dry), each of the plants was measured for its height using measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest spike excluding awns.

Reproductive period—Calculated number of days from booting to maturity.

Reproductive tillers number—Number of Reproductive tillers with flag leaf at flowering.

Relative Growth Rate (RGR) of vegetative dry weight was performed using Formula VII above.

Spike area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘spikes’ were, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘spike’ area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘spikes’.

Spike length and width analysis—At the end of the experiment the length and width of five chosen spikes per plant were measured using measuring tape excluding the awns.

Spike max width—Measured by imaging the max width of 10-15 spikes randomly distributed within a pre-defined 0.5 m² of a plot. Measurements were carried out at the middle of the spike.

Spikes Index—The Spikes index was calculated using Formula XXVII above.

Spike number analysis—The spikes per plant were counted at harvest.

No. of tillering—tillers were counted per plant at heading stage (mean per plot).

Total dry mater per plant—Calculated as Vegetative portion above ground plus all the spikes dry weight per plant.

TABLE 30 Barley correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID % reproductive tiller percentage (%) 1 1000 grain weight (gr) 2 Avr spike dry weight per plant (H) (g) 3 Avr vegetative dry weight per plant (H) (g) 4 Avr shoot dry weight (F) (gr) 5 Avr spike weight (H) (g) 6 Grain Perimeter (cm) 7 Grain Area (cm²) 8 Grain Length (cm) 9 Grain width (cm) 10 Grains per spike (number) 11 Grain yield per plant (gr) 12 Grain yield per spike (gr) 13 Growth habit (scores 1-9) 14 Harvest Index (value) 15 Number days to anthesis (days) 16 Number days to maturity (days) 17 Plant height (cm) 18 RGR 19 Reproductive period (days) 20 Reproductive tillers number (F) (number) 21 Spike area (cm²) 22 Spike length (cm) 23 Spike width (cm) 24 Spike max width (cm) 25 Spike index (cm) 26 Spikes per plant (numbers) 27 Tillering (Heading) (number) 28 Total dry matter per plant (kg) 29 Avr seedling dry weight (gr) 30 Field spike length (cm) 31 Table 30. Provided are the Barley correlated parameters (vectors).

Experimental Results

55 different Barley accessions were grown and characterized for 31 parameters as described above. Among the 55 lines and ecotypes, 27 are Hordeum spontaneum and 19 are Hordeum vulgare. The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 31 and 32 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome expression sets (Table 29) and the average parameters was conducted. Correlations were calculated across all 55 lines and ecotypes. For phenotypic data of all 55 lines and ecotypes see Tables 31-38. For correlation data of all 55 lines and ecotypes see Table 46. For phenotypic data of Hordeum spontaneum lines and ecotypes see Tables 39-42. For correlation data of Hordeum spontaneum lines and ecotypes see Table 47. For phenotypic data of Hordeum vulgare lines and ecotypes see Tables 43-45. For correlation data of Hordeum vulgare lines and ecotypes see Table 48.

TABLE 31 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions (1-7) Ecotype/Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 1 4.31 18.25 9.16 40.15 33.22 NA 7.86 2 50.11 49.98 31.77 52.43 47.22 49.33 53.02 3 80.88 60.47 36.42 69.45 61.03 63.22 88.26 4 46.33 85.03 82.74 127.37 79.51 82.95 68.92 5 11.34 52.57 48.28 126.89 60.56 NA 31.40 6 3.33 1.56 2.37 3.11 3.18 2.85 3.37 7 2.62 2.41 2.31 2.67 2.62 2.59 2.59 8 0.30 0.28 0.24 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.30 9 1.09 0.97 0.92 1.07 1.09 1.07 1.05 10 0.40 0.41 0.35 0.41 0.39 0.39 0.41 11 56.51 21.05 45.16 44.35 47.12 43.51 55.88 12 64.98 37.47 NA 51.69 49.15 46.44 NA 13 2.91 1.02 1.37 2.33 2.23 2.14 2.85 14 4.20 1.00 1.40 2.60 2.60 1.00 2.60 15 0.51 0.25 NA 0.26 0.35 0.32 NA 16 90.80 124.40 122.00 NA 122.00 NA 102.60 17 148.00 170.00 157.00 170.00 167.40 170.00 158.80 18 83.97 79.87 99.04 122.46 108.03 87.00 97.03 19 2.45 3.96 3.91 4.75 4.12 NA 3.24 20 57.20 45.60 35.00 NA 48.00 NA 56.20 21 1.00 9.20 5.00 19.20 14.63 NA 2.80 22 9.90 7.82 9.68 11.07 10.17 9.98 9.94 23 9.49 10.26 7.88 7.97 8.42 8.12 7.61 24 1.23 0.87 1.44 1.68 1.47 1.51 1.57 25 1.41 1.05 1.59 1.79 1.60 1.61 1.70 26 0.64 0.42 0.30 0.35 0.44 0.43 0.56 27 45.27 56.27 31.50 32.42 35.40 36.73 36.93 28 24.00 48.70 52.00 47.60 45.00 NA 35.20 29 127.22 145.50 119.15 196.82 140.54 146.17 157.18 30 0.05 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.07 31 9.57 NA 7.66 7.93 8.13 NA 7.21 Table 31. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (1-7) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30). “NA” = not available.

TABLE 32 Barley accessions (8-14), additional measured parameters Ecotype/Treatment Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 1 16.67 5.64 5.29 18.34 4.03 8.83 4.82 2 61.33 49.97 51.70 56.46 53.97 50.36 56.81 3 91.89 99.05 66.99 60.22 87.61 71.76 76.71 4 82.88 56.80 64.14 54.23 73.23 49.50 47.63 5 44.57 9.71 38.18 46.74 42.32 11.62 9.33 6 4.13 3.47 3.15 1.88 3.35 3.60 3.24 7 2.78 2.66 2.63 2.28 2.54 2.37 2.71 8 0.33 0.29 0.30 0.28 0.30 0.27 0.32 9 1.15 1.09 1.08 0.88 1.03 0.96 1.12 10 0.42 0.39 0.39 0.45 0.42 0.41 0.41 11 58.33 56.03 59.08 27.27 55.87 61.53 50.80 12 78.18 79.86 54.34 46.37 71.89 56.24 61.63 13 3.47 2.60 2.84 1.51 2.84 2.98 2.85 14 1.00 5.00 3.00 1.00 1.00 2.20 3.00 15 0.45 0.51 0.41 0.40 0.45 0.48 0.50 16 111.60 86.80 106.20 117.80 111.60 85.40 90.00 17 156.20 159.60 157.00 162.20 159.60 157.00 150.50 18 104.01 70.78 98.11 57.88 94.52 73.20 78.65 19 3.82 2.30 3.60 3.83 3.63 2.43 2.26 20 44.60 72.80 50.80 44.40 46.00 71.60 61.50 21 6.30 1.20 2.10 10.00 2.60 1.63 1.00 22 9.89 9.58 11.19 8.76 10.49 10.83 11.23 23 6.39 7.73 8.45 10.55 7.60 7.87 9.42 24 1.83 1.50 1.57 0.96 1.63 1.63 1.43 25 1.93 1.59 1.71 1.17 1.75 1.72 1.58 26 0.51 0.64 0.51 0.53 0.55 0.61 0.62 27 32.10 48.53 29.80 50.80 32.40 26.80 42.42 28 38.50 21.50 36.10 57.25 42.20 19.13 21.63 29 178.63 155.85 131.13 114.45 160.84 121.26 124.34 30 0.05 0.06 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 31 5.65 7.94 8.55 10.59 7.44 7.36 9.60 Table 32. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (8-14) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 33 Barley accessions (15-21), additional measured parameters Ecotype/Treatment Line-15 Line-16 Line-17 Line-18 Line-19 Line-20 Line-21 1 29.49 5.01 3.74 11.42 5.13 4.07 6.62 2 57.98 51.44 58.07 53.45 48.66 39.48 41.96 3 81.14 77.90 68.17 70.73 54.13 48.72 64.51 4 66.51 77.50 81.58 67.92 81.05 66.73 91.79 5 47.56 30.93 NA 35.49 38.41 NA 41.56 6 3.12 1.69 1.66 3.50 1.16 2.95 1.36 7 2.90 2.28 2.42 2.65 2.16 2.16 2.45 8 0.34 0.27 0.30 0.30 0.26 0.23 0.23 9 1.22 0.89 0.96 1.08 0.83 0.85 0.94 10 0.41 0.42 0.44 0.40 0.42 0.39 0.36 11 45.48 24.77 21.15 59.72 17.46 63.19 19.87 12 64.82 56.43 49.68 54.97 40.33 NA NA 13 2.39 1.21 1.18 2.93 0.83 2.38 0.78 14 1.00 1.00 3.80 3.80 1.00 3.40 1.00 15 0.44 0.36 0.33 0.40 0.29 NA NA 16 113.20 113.40 98.50 109.60 119.40 98.80 119.40 17 158.00 170.00 170.00 155.20 170.00 156.20 170.00 18 90.73 64.27 82.73 94.12 63.47 102.12 94.80 19 3.89 3.46 NA 3.60 3.64 NA 3.74 20 44.80 56.60 71.50 45.60 50.60 57.40 50.60 21 17.00 3.00 1.00 3.80 4.20 1.00 4.63 22 7.89 9.15 8.57 11.30 7.04 8.37 7.28 23 6.68 12.05 10.74 8.60 8.94 6.03 10.99 24 1.45 0.88 0.92 1.56 0.92 1.67 0.76 25 1.52 1.03 1.10 1.72 1.08 1.75 0.90 26 0.55 0.50 0.45 0.51 0.39 0.42 0.41 27 39.73 71.33 65.40 33.27 82.47 32.87 73.13 28 59.80 62.50 31.20 34.00 78.90 26.50 69.88 29 147.66 155.41 149.76 138.64 135.18 115.45 156.29 30 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.05 31 6.23 NA NA 8.57 NA 6.26 NA Table 33. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (15-21) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 34 Barley accessions (22-28), additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 22 23 24 25 26 27 28  1 3.51 7.34 31.12 NA NA 11.07 21.67  2 18.60 42.65 39.67 24.43 28.42 28.40 23.52  3 33.60 33.22 52.10 33.28 47.69 52.78 52.54  4 50.17 45.22 67.20 43.40 79.51 61.09 59.71  5 174.82 8.39 51.83 NA NA 38.46 38.79  6 0.90 3.09 1.22 0.91 0.92 1.08 0.95  7 2.65 2.19 2.44 2.90 2.62 2.66 2.68  8 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.27 0.25 0.25 0.24  9 1.11 0.88 0.96 1.20 1.07 1.08 1.11 10 0.31 0.39 0.37 0.32 0.32 0.33 0.31 11 16.30 60.49 17.54 12.00 20.01 20.00 17.01 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 0.31 2.43 0.67 0.31 0.56 0.56 0.38 14 1.00 3.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 95.60 90.00 111.00 83.60 122.00 111.40 109.20 17 133.00 161.40 145.80 140.20 153.00 143.00 140.40 18 90.49 88.53 90.10 92.47 99.08 91.69 94.67 19 5.01 2.12 3.97 NA NA 3.67 3.68 20 37.40 71.40 34.80 56.60 31.00 31.60 31.20 21 1.88 1.00 15.50 NA NA 7.10 15.70 22 4.98 11.56 6.52 5.39 8.16 8.08 5.73 23 8.58 9.02 8.63 7.96 10.20 10.52 8.35 24 0.68 1.53 0.88 0.81 0.97 0.92 0.78 25 0.79 1.68 1.01 0.88 1.05 1.01 0.90 26 0.41 0.42 0.44 0.44 0.38 0.46 0.47 27 88.07 20.53 48.53 51.33 65.80 55.80 65.60 28 55.25 14.00 48.50 NA NA 69.00 76.40 29 83.76 78.44 119.30 76.68 127.20 113.88 112.25 30 0.03 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 31 9.74 9.06 8.69 8.90 10.13 10.61 9.60 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (22-28) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 35 Barley accessions (29-35), additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 29 30 31 32 33 34 35  1 3.93 16.51 3.19 10.55 26.51 15.15 4.28  2 45.71 26.47 23.14 27.64 29.37 27.74 42.12  3 83.98 47.05 48.92 47.26 48.82 46.56 89.21  4 45.36 60.37 67.39 67.12 61.35 59.03 71.31  5 10.63 29.60 14.28 37.74 39.23 34.46 41.16  6 2.99 0.85 0.85 0.89 1.10 1.09 2.93  7 2.77 2.66 2.57 2.93 3.16 2.99 2.97  8 0.30 0.25 0.24 0.29 0.33 0.29 0.30  9 1.13 1.09 1.06 1.23 1.33 1.27 1.16 10 0.39 0.32 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.32 0.39 11 56.85 18.19 13.50 12.83 14.49 13.72 54.84 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 2.63 0.46 0.31 0.37 0.43 0.39 2.14 14 2.20 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 89.20 104.00 89.20 97.80 113.60 109.20 110.40 17 151.60 140.20 140.40 140.40 145.80 143.00 156.20 18 66.65 105.78 112.21 103.83 105.74 107.45 100.65 19 2.37 3.42 2.67 3.64 3.65 3.51 3.74 20 62.40 36.20 51.20 42.60 32.20 33.80 45.80 21 1.00 12.30 1.10 8.50 18.67 11.00 2.50 22 8.94 4.69 5.47 5.92 6.16 6.88 11.03 23 7.75 6.85 8.51 8.32 9.80 9.28 8.77 24 1.37 0.81 0.75 0.83 0.74 0.88 1.53 25 1.52 0.91 0.85 0.96 0.82 0.94 1.60 26 0.65 0.44 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.44 0.56 27 44.87 77.13 85.00 67.53 50.87 55.67 38.60 28 26.50 76.60 35.30 75.30 68.50 66.80 55.80 29 129.34 107.42 116.31 114.38 104.47 105.59 160.52 30 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.05 31 7.97 8.24 9.14 8.71 9.82 10.00 8.47 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (29-35) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 36 Barley accessions (36-42), additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 1 9.46 4.75 NA 4.60 21.49 21.20 14.49 2 26.38 19.78 31.00 47.79 32.57 36.89 24.24 3 43.46 27.36 44.56 69.91 44.21 50.54 44.04 4 48.56 31.46 59.31 43.15 72.36 91.79 63.37 5 23.84 11.91 NA 8.31 55.42 55.88 31.34 6 0.74 1.15 1.32 3.51 1.45 1.40 0.93 7 3.17 2.74 2.69 2.93 2.38 2.67 3.05 8 0.30 0.26 0.26 0.32 0.23 0.28 0.30 9 1.30 1.11 1.10 1.21 0.95 1.09 1.28 10 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.39 0.33 0.36 0.33 11 11.25 16.11 21.71 58.20 34.19 20.75 11.50 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 0.24 0.32 0.66 2.82 0.94 0.75 0.31 14 1.00 1.00 1.00 3.80 1.00 1.40 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 108.40 91.60 115.60 84.20 118.00 116.80 111.00 17 140.40 133.00 145.80 148.00 153.80 144.20 140.20 18 106.34 78.29 107.63 77.57 93.91 126.08 107.15 19 3.17 2.50 NA 2.12 4.03 NA 3.44 20 32.00 41.40 30.20 63.80 36.00 27.40 29.25 21 7.40 1.50 NA 0.81 14.80 15.50 10.70 22 5.17 7.72 8.37 7.41 7.83 8.38 5.09 23 7.81 11.96 11.32 7.52 8.33 10.12 8.27 24 0.79 0.75 0.86 1.16 1.15 0.99 0.72 25 0.91 0.92 0.94 1.31 1.24 1.06 0.82 26 0.47 0.48 0.43 0.62 0.37 0.36 0.41 27 64.67 50.93 48.40 32.00 43.40 45.80 73.53 28 69.30 32.20 NA 15.81 66.40 75.13 71.20 29 92.02 58.82 110.88 113.06 116.57 149.88 107.41 30 0.06 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.05 NA 0.06 31 8.36 12.49 11.03 8.21 7.97 10.44 8.66 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (36-42) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 37 Barley accessions (43-49), additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 43 44 45 46 47 48 49  1 17.05 12.52 9.87 10.75 10.80 14.99 16.12  2 27.81 23.34 31.77 27.36 25.70 24.92 26.31  3 50.12 40.37 55.92 33.55 31.74 50.70 44.59  4 69.41 58.51 61.56 42.29 41.24 71.38 73.03  5 32.88 35.99 42.56 19.47 26.16 39.22 49.89  6 0.96 0.82 1.34 1.16 1.18 0.94 1.05  7 2.77 2.94 3.18 3.06 2.75 2.62 2.99  8 0.26 0.29 0.33 0.30 0.26 0.24 0.29  9 1.14 1.25 1.32 1.25 1.13 1.06 1.25 10 0.33 0.32 0.35 0.34 0.32 0.32 0.33 11 17.55 10.65 15.98 14.58 17.44 18.90 14.60 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 0.47 0.25 0.53 0.43 0.45 0.47 0.40 14 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 111.00 111.00 111.00 99.20 105.80 111.00 117.20 17 146.00 140.20 143.00 133.00 133.00 143.00 148.20 18 106.69 96.26 99.81 91.75 80.80 105.57 101.87 19 3.52 3.60 3.75 2.94 3.29 3.68 3.84 20 35.00 29.20 32.00 33.80 27.20 32.00 31.00 21 15.00 11.70 6.90 5.50 10.30 12.40 13.33 22 5.03 4.88 8.33 7.43 6.71 6.61 7.10 23 8.45 7.95 10.21 11.52 10.17 9.09 9.79 24 0.65 0.72 0.96 0.76 0.77 0.94 0.85 25 0.76 0.82 1.04 0.91 0.92 0.97 0.95 26 0.42 0.41 0.48 0.44 0.46 0.42 0.38 27 79.33 61.67 49.13 55.10 56.67 62.20 70.93 28 86.70 90.70 71.40 58.50 90.90 87.50 108.50 29 119.53 98.88 117.49 75.84 72.98 122.08 117.62 30 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.07 0.05 31 9.91 8.51 10.18 11.82 10.58 9.42 10.04 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (43-49) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 38 Barley accessions (50-55), additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treatment Line-50 Line-51 Line-52 Line-53 Line-54 Line-55  1 31.13 NA 15.51 6.88 7.07 6.72  2 30.08 24.82 26.46 21.49 43.66 47.91  3 36.91 26.20 57.49 47.76 43.70 68.61  4 50.75 52.91 73.30 65.81 56.28 NA  5 37.91 NA 38.72 29.92 14.62 67.47  6 1.01 1.01 0.84 0.75 3.71 2.78  7 3.06 3.24 2.90 2.65 2.24 2.56  8 0.31 0.32 0.26 0.25 0.25 0.28  9 1.26 1.36 1.17 1.10 0.88 1.05 10 0.35 0.33 0.32 0.31 0.40 0.38 11 13.58 13.07 19.84 17.16 65.39 43.77 12 NA NA NA NA 34.58 53.97 13 0.40 0.32 0.50 0.38 2.64 2.06 14 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 5.00 1.80 15 NA NA NA NA 0.35 NA 16 113.00 122.60 111.00 107.60 88.40 128.00 17 143.60 152.00 142.40 140.40 157.00 170.00 18 95.35 80.26 105.02 98.42 93.79 90.30 19 NA NA 3.66 3.41 2.18 4.23 20 30.60 29.40 31.40 32.80 68.60 42.00 21 20.20 NA 18.30 6.60 2.50 3.10 22 6.86 8.62 7.16 5.75 10.74 10.04 23 9.38 11.73 10.01 8.78 8.54 8.59 24 0.87 0.87 0.86 0.77 1.49 1.45 25 0.94 0.97 0.94 0.89 1.68 1.57 26 0.42 0.33 0.44 0.42 0.44 NA 27 39.27 45.00 74.58 74.53 20.80 38.00 28 64.60 NA 113.50 95.60 15.60 43.20 29 87.66 79.11 130.79 113.58 99.98 NA 30 NA 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05 31 9.41 11.67 10.60 9.72 8.26 9.22 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (50-55) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 39 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 21 22 24 25 26 27 28  1 6.62 3.51 31.12 NA NA 11.07 21.67  2 41.96 18.60 39.67 24.43 28.42 28.40 23.52  3 64.51 33.60 52.10 33.28 47.69 52.78 52.54  4 91.79 50.17 67.20 43.40 79.51 61.09 59.71  5 41.56 174.82 51.83 NA NA 38.46 38.79  6 1.36 0.90 1.22 0.91 0.92 1.08 0.95  7 2.45 2.65 2.44 2.90 2.62 2.66 2.68  8 0.23 0.25 0.25 0.27 0.25 0.25 0.24  9 0.94 1.11 0.96 1.20 1.07 1.08 1.11 10 0.36 0.31 0.37 0.32 0.32 0.33 0.31 11 19.87 16.30 17.54 12.00 20.01 20.00 17.01 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 0.78 0.31 0.67 0.31 0.56 0.56 0.38 14 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 119.40 95.60 111.00 83.60 122.00 111.40 109.20 17 170.00 133.00 145.80 140.20 153.00 143.00 140.40 18 94.80 90.49 90.10 92.47 99.08 91.69 94.67 19 3.74 5.01 3.97 NA NA 3.67 3.68 20 50.60 37.40 34.80 56.60 31.00 31.60 31.20 21 4.63 1.88 15.50 NA NA 7.10 15.70 22 7.28 4.98 6.52 5.39 8.16 8.08 5.73 23 10.99 8.58 8.63 7.96 10.20 10.52 8.35 24 0.76 0.68 0.88 0.81 0.97 0.92 0.78 25 0.90 0.79 1.01 0.88 1.05 1.01 0.90 26 0.41 0.41 0.44 0.44 0.38 0.46 0.47 27 73.13 88.07 48.53 51.33 65.80 55.80 65.60 28 69.88 55.25 48.50 NA NA 69.00 76.40 29 156.29 83.76 119.30 76.68 127.20 113.88 112.25 30 0.05 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 31 NA 9.74 8.69 8.90 10.13 10.61 9.60 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley Hordeum spontaneum accessions (21-22, 24-28) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 40 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment Line30 31 32 33 34 36 37  1 16.51 3.19 10.55 26.51 15.15 9.46 4.75  2 26.47 23.14 27.64 29.37 27.74 26.38 19.78  3 47.05 48.92 47.26 48.82 46.56 43.46 27.36  4 60.37 67.39 67.12 61.35 59.03 48.56 31.46  5 29.60 14.28 37.74 39.23 34.46 23.84 11.91  6 0.85 0.85 0.89 1.10 1.09 0.74 1.15  7 2.66 2.57 2.93 3.16 2.99 3.17 2.74  8 0.25 0.24 0.29 0.33 0.29 0.30 0.26  9 1.09 1.06 1.23 1.33 1.27 1.30 1.11 10 0.32 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.32 0.31 0.32 11 18.19 13.50 12.83 14.49 13.72 11.25 16.11 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 0.46 0.31 0.37 0.43 0.39 0.24 0.32 14 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 104.00 89.20 97.80 113.60 109.20 108.40 91.60 17 140.20 140.40 140.40 145.80 143.00 140.40 133.00 18 105.78 112.21 103.83 105.74 107.45 106.34 78.29 19 3.42 2.67 3.64 3.65 3.51 3.17 2.50 20 36.20 51.20 42.60 32.20 33.80 32.00 41.40 21 12.30 1.10 8.50 18.67 11.00 7.40 1.50 22 4.69 5.47 5.92 6.16 6.88 5.17 7.72 23 6.85 8.51 8.32 9.80 9.28 7.81 11.96 24 0.81 0.75 0.83 0.74 0.88 0.79 0.75 25 0.91 0.85 0.96 0.82 0.94 0.91 0.92 26 0.44 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.44 0.47 0.48 27 77.13 85.00 67.53 50.87 55.67 64.67 50.93 28 76.60 35.30 75.30 68.50 66.80 69.30 32.20 29 107.42 116.31 114.38 104.47 105.59 92.02 58.82 30 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.06 0.03 31 8.24 9.14 8.71 9.82 10.00 8.36 12.49 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley Hordeum spontaneum accessions (30-34, 36-37) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 41 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 38 41 42 43 44 45 46  1 NA 21.20 14.49 17.05 12.52 9.87 10.75  2 31.00 36.89 24.24 27.81 23.34 31.77 27.36  3 44.56 50.54 44.04 50.12 40.37 55.92 33.55  4 59.31 91.79 63.37 69.41 58.51 61.56 42.29  5 NA 55.88 31.34 32.88 35.99 42.56 19.47  6 1.32 1.40 0.93 0.96 0.82 1.34 1.16  7 2.69 2.67 3.05 2.77 2.94 3.18 3.06  8 0.26 0.28 0.30 0.26 0.29 0.33 0.30  9 1.10 1.09 1.28 1.14 1.25 1.32 1.25 10 0.33 0.36 0.33 0.33 0.32 0.35 0.34 11 21.71 20.75 11.50 17.55 10.65 15.98 14.58 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 0.66 0.75 0.31 0.47 0.25 0.53 0.43 14 1.00 1.40 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 115.60 116.80 111.00 111.00 111.00 111.00 99.20 17 145.80 144.20 140.20 146.00 140.20 143.00 133.00 18 107.63 126.08 107.15 106.69 96.26 99.81 91.75 19 NA NA 3.44 3.52 3.60 3.75 2.94 20 30.20 27.40 29.25 35.00 29.20 32.00 33.80 21 NA 15.50 10.70 15.00 11.70 6.90 5.50 22 8.37 8.38 5.09 5.03 4.88 8.33 7.43 23 11.32 10.12 8.27 8.45 7.95 10.21 11.52 24 0.86 0.99 0.72 0.65 0.72 0.96 0.76 25 0.94 1.06 0.82 0.76 0.82 1.04 0.91 26 0.43 0.36 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.48 0.44 27 48.40 45.80 73.53 79.33 61.67 49.13 55.10 28 NA 75.13 71.20 86.70 90.70 71.40 58.50 29 110.88 149.88 107.41 119.53 98.88 117.49 75.84 30 0.04 NA 0.06 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.05 31 11.03 10.44 8.66 9.91 8.51 10.18 11.82 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley Hordeum spontaneum accessions (38, 41-46) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 42 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treatment Line-47 Line-48 Line-49 Line-51 Line-52 Line-53  1 10.80 14.99 16.12 NA 15.51 6.88  2 25.70 24.92 26.31 24.82 26.46 21.49  3 31.74 50.70 44.59 26.20 57.49 47.76  4 41.24 71.38 73.03 52.91 73.30 65.81  5 26.16 39.22 49.89 NA 38.72 29.92  6 1.18 0.94 1.05 1.01 0.84 0.75  7 2.75 2.62 2.99 3.24 2.90 2.65  8 0.26 0.24 0.29 0.32 0.26 0.25  9 1.13 1.06 1.25 1.36 1.17 1.10 10 0.32 0.32 0.33 0.33 0.32 0.31 11 17.44 18.90 14.60 13.07 19.84 17.16 12 NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 0.45 0.47 0.40 0.32 0.50 0.38 14 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 15 NA NA NA NA NA NA 16 105.80 111.00 117.20 122.60 111.00 107.60 17 133.00 143.00 148.20 152.00 142.40 140.40 18 80.80 105.57 101.87 80.26 105.02 98.42 19 3.29 3.68 3.84 NA 3.66 3.41 20 27.20 32.00 31.00 29.40 31.40 32.80 21 10.30 12.40 13.33 NA 18.30 6.60 22 6.71 6.61 7.10 8.62 7.16 5.75 23 10.17 9.09 9.79 11.73 10.01 8.78 24 0.77 0.94 0.85 0.87 0.86 0.77 25 0.92 0.97 0.95 0.97 0.94 0.89 26 0.46 0.42 0.38 0.33 0.44 0.42 27 56.67 62.20 70.93 45.00 74.58 74.53 28 90.90 87.50 108.50 NA 113.50 95.60 29 72.98 122.08 117.62 79.11 130.79 113.58 30 0.04 0.07 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.05 31 10.58 9.42 10.04 11.67 10.60 9.72 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley Hordeum spontaneum accessions (47-49, 51-53) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 43 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 1 2 4 5 6 8 9  1 4.31 18.25 40.15 33.22 NA 16.67 5.64  2 50.11 49.98 52.43 47.22 49.33 61.33 49.97  3 80.88 60.47 69.45 61.03 63.22 91.89 99.05  4 46.33 85.03 127.37 79.51 82.95 82.88 56.80  5 11.34 52.57 126.89 60.56 NA 44.57 9.71  6 3.33 1.56 3.11 3.18 2.85 4.13 3.47  7 2.62 2.41 2.67 2.62 2.59 2.78 2.66  8 0.30 0.28 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.33 0.29  9 1.09 0.97 1.07 1.09 1.07 1.15 1.09 10 0.40 0.41 0.41 0.39 0.39 0.42 0.39 11 56.51 21.05 44.35 47.12 43.51 58.33 56.03 12 64.98 37.47 51.69 49.15 46.44 78.18 79.86 13 2.91 1.02 2.33 2.23 2.14 3.47 2.60 14 4.20 1.00 2.60 2.60 1.00 1.00 5.00 15 0.51 0.25 0.26 0.35 0.32 0.45 0.51 16 90.80 124.40 NA 122.00 NA 111.60 86.80 17 148.00 170.00 170.00 167.40 170.00 156.20 159.60 18 83.97 79.87 122.46 108.03 87.00 104.01 70.78 19 2.45 3.96 4.75 4.12 NA 3.82 2.30 20 57.20 45.60 NA 48.00 NA 44.60 72.80 21 1.00 9.20 19.20 14.63 NA 6.30 1.20 22 9.90 7.82 11.07 10.17 9.98 9.89 9.58 23 9.49 10.26 7.97 8.42 8.12 6.39 7.73 24 1.23 0.87 1.68 1.47 1.51 1.83 1.50 25 1.41 1.05 1.79 1.60 1.61 1.93 1.59 26 0.64 0.42 0.35 0.44 0.43 0.51 0.64 27 45.27 56.27 32.42 35.40 36.73 32.10 48.53 28 24.00 48.70 47.60 45.00 NA 38.50 21.50 29 127.22 145.50 196.82 140.54 146.17 178.63 155.85 30 0.05 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.06 31 9.57 NA 7.93 8.13 NA 5.65 7.94 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley Hordeum vulgare accessions (1-2, 4-6, 8-9) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 44 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 10 11 12 13 14 15 16  1 5.29 18.34 4.03 8.83 4.82 29.49 5.01  2 51.70 56.46 53.97 50.36 56.81 57.98 51.44  3 66.99 60.22 87.61 71.76 76.71 81.14 77.90  4 64.14 54.23 73.23 49.50 47.63 66.51 77.50  5 38.18 46.74 42.32 11.62 9.33 47.56 30.93  6 3.15 1.88 3.35 3.60 3.24 3.12 1.69  7 2.63 2.28 2.54 2.37 2.71 2.90 2.28  8 0.30 0.28 0.30 0.27 0.32 0.34 0.27  9 1.08 0.88 1.03 0.96 1.12 1.22 0.89 10 0.39 0.45 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.42 11 59.08 27.27 55.87 61.53 50.80 45.48 24.77 12 54.34 46.37 71.89 56.24 61.63 64.82 56.43 13 2.84 1.51 2.84 2.98 2.85 2.39 1.21 14 3.00 1.00 1.00 2.20 3.00 1.00 1.00 15 0.41 0.40 0.45 0.48 0.50 0.44 0.36 16 106.20 117.80 111.60 85.40 90.00 113.20 113.40 17 157.00 162.20 159.60 157.00 150.50 158.00 170.00 18 98.11 57.88 94.52 73.20 78.65 90.73 64.27 19 3.60 3.83 3.63 2.43 2.26 3.89 3.46 20 50.80 44.40 46.00 71.60 61.50 44.80 56.60 21 2.10 10.00 2.60 1.63 1.00 17.00 3.00 22 11.19 8.76 10.49 10.83 11.23 7.89 9.15 23 8.45 10.55 7.60 7.87 9.42 6.68 12.05 24 1.57 0.96 1.63 1.63 1.43 1.45 0.88 25 1.71 1.17 1.75 1.72 1.58 1.52 1.03 26 0.51 0.53 0.55 0.61 0.62 0.55 0.50 27 29.80 50.80 32.40 26.80 42.42 39.73 71.33 28 36.10 57.25 42.20 19.13 21.63 59.80 62.50 29 131.13 114.45 160.84 121.26 124.34 147.66 155.41 30 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.04 31 8.55 10.59 7.44 7.36 9.60 6.23 NA Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley Hordeum vulgare accessions (10-16) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 45 Barley accessions, additional measured parameters Ecotype/Treatment Line-17 Line-18 Line-19 Line-54 Line-55  1 3.74 11.42 5.13 7.07 6.72  2 58.07 53.45 48.66 43.66 47.91  3 68.17 70.73 54.13 43.70 68.61  4 81.58 67.92 81.05 56.28 NA  5 NA 35.49 38.41 14.62 67.47  6 1.66 3.50 1.16 3.71 2.78  7 2.42 2.65 2.16 2.24 2.56  8 0.30 0.30 0.26 0.25 0.28  9 0.96 1.08 0.83 0.88 1.05 10 0.44 0.40 0.42 0.40 0.38 11 21.15 59.72 17.46 65.39 43.77 12 49.68 54.97 40.33 34.58 53.97 13 1.18 2.93 0.83 2.64 2.06 14 3.80 3.80 1.00 5.00 1.80 15 0.33 0.40 0.29 0.35 NA 16 98.50 109.60 119.40 88.40 128.00 17 170.00 155.20 170.00 157.00 170.00 18 82.73 94.12 63.47 93.79 90.30 19 NA 3.60 3.64 2.18 4.23 20 71.50 45.60 50.60 68.60 42.00 21 1.00 3.80 4.20 2.50 3.10 22 8.57 11.30 7.04 10.74 10.04 23 10.74 8.60 8.94 8.54 8.59 24 0.92 1.56 0.92 1.49 1.45 25 1.10 1.72 1.08 1.68 1.57 26 0.45 0.51 0.39 0.44 NA 27 65.40 33.27 82.47 20.80 38.00 28 31.20 34.00 78.90 15.60 43.20 29 149.76 138.64 135.18 99.98 NA 30 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.05 31 NA 8.57 NA 8.26 9.22 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley Hordeum vulgare accessions (17-19, 54-55) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 30).

TABLE 46 Correlation between the expression level of the selected polynucleotides of the invention and their homologues in specific tissues or developmental stages and the phenotypic performance across all 55 Barley accessions Gene Name R P value Exp. set Corr. Set ID LGP21 0.72 3.67E−09 4 26 Table 46. Provided are the correlations (R) and p-values (P) between the expression levels of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues or developmental stages (Expression sets) and the phenotypic performance in various yield (seed yield, oil yield, oil content), biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.) Expression (Exp.)] Corr. Vector = correlation vector specified in Table 30; Exp. Set = expression set specified in Table 29.

TABLE 47 Correlation between the expression level of the selected polynucleotides of the invention and their homologues in specific tissues or developmental stages and the phenotypic performance across 27 Barley Hordeum spontaneum accessions Gene Name R P value Exp. set Corr. Set ID MGP3 0.74 3.13E−04 2 21 Table 47. Provided are the correlations (R) and p-values (P) between the expression levels of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues or developmental stages (Expression sets) and the phenotypic performance in various yield (seed yield, oil yield, oil content), biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.) Expression (Exp.)] Corr. Vector = correlation vector specified in Table 30; Exp. Set = expression set specified in Table 29.

TABLE 48 Correlation between the expression level of the selected polynucleotides of the invention and their homologues in specific tissues or developmental stages and the phenotypic performance across 19 Barley Hordeum vulgare accessions Gene Corr. Gene Corr. Name R P value Exp. set Set ID Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP21 0.74 6.16E−04 3 26 LGP21 0.71 1.50E−03 4 26 LGP21 0.73 5.59E−04 2 8 Provided are the correlations (R) and p-values (P) between the expression levels of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues or developmental stages (Expression sets) and the phenotypic performance in various yield (seed yield, oil yield, oil content), biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.) Expression (Exp.)] Corr. Vector = correlation vector specified in Table 30; Exp. Set = expression set specified in Table 29.

Example 6 Production of Arabidopsis Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis of Yield, Biomass and/or Vigor Related Parameters Using 44K Arabidopsis Full Genome Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

To produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized an Arabidopsis thaliana oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 40,000 A. thaliana genes and transcripts designed based on data from the TIGR ATH1 v.5 database and Arabidopsis MPSS

(University of Delaware) databases. To define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield, biomass components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 15 different Arabidopsis ecotypes were analyzed. Among them, nine ecotypes encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Analyzed Arabidopsis tissues—Five tissues at different developmental stages including root, leaf, flower at anthesis, seed at 5 days after flowering (DAF) and seed at 12 DAF, representing different plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extracted as described as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 49 below.

TABLE 49 Tissues used for Arabidopsis transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Leaf 1 Root 2 Seed 5 DAF 3 Flower 4 Seed 12DAF 5 Table 49: Provided are the identification (ID) digits of each of the Arabidopsis expression sets (1-5). DAF = days after flowering.

Yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—Eight out of the nine Arabidopsis ecotypes were used in each of 5 repetitive blocks (named A, B, C, D and E), each containing 20 plants per plot. The plants were grown in a greenhouse at controlled conditions in 22° C., and the N:P:K fertilizer (20:20:20; weight ratios) [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)] was added. During this time data was collected, documented and analyzed. Additional data was collected through the seedling stage of plants grown in a tissue culture in vertical grown transparent agar plates. Most of chosen parameters were analyzed by digital imaging.

Digital imaging in Tissue culture—A laboratory image acquisition system was used for capturing images of plantlets sawn in square agar plates. The image acquisition system consists of a digital reflex camera (Canon EOS 300D) attached to a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-S series), mounted on a reproduction device (Kaiser RS), which included 4 light units (4×150 Watts light bulb) and located in a darkroom.

Digital imaging in Greenhouse—The image capturing process was repeated every 3-4 days starting at day 7 till day 30. The same camera attached to a 24 mm focal length lens (Canon EF series), placed in a custom made iron mount, was used for capturing images of larger plants sawn in white tubs in an environmental controlled greenhouse. The white tubs were square shape with measurements of 36×26.2 cm and 7.5 cm deep. During the capture process, the tubs were placed beneath the iron mount, while avoiding direct sun light and casting of shadows. This process was repeated every 3-4 days for up to 30 days.

An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 6 Mega Pixels (3072×2048 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data was calculated, including leaf number, area, perimeter, length and width. On day 30, 3-4 representative plants were chosen from each plot of blocks A, B and C. The plants were dissected, each leaf was separated and was introduced between two glass trays, a photo of each plant was taken and the various parameters (such as leaf total area, laminar length etc.) were calculated from the images. The blade circularity was calculated as laminar width divided by laminar length.

Root analysis—During 17 days, the different ecotypes were grown in transparent agar plates. The plates were photographed every 3 days starting at day 7 in the photography room and the roots development was documented (see examples in FIGS. 3A-3F). The growth rate of root coverage was calculated according to Formula XXVIII above.

Vegetative growth rate analysis—was calculated according to Formula VII above. The analysis was ended with the appearance of overlapping plants.

For comparison between ecotypes the calculated rate was normalized using plant developmental stage as represented by the number of true leaves. In cases where plants with 8 leaves had been sampled twice (for example at day 10 and day 13), only the largest sample was chosen and added to the Anova comparison.

Seeds in siliques analysis—On day 70, 15-17 siliques were collected from each plot in blocks D and E. The chosen siliques were light brown color but still intact. The siliques were opened in the photography room and the seeds were scatter on a glass tray, a high resolution digital picture was taken for each plot. Using the images the number of seeds per silique was determined.

Seeds average weight—At the end of the experiment all seeds from plots of blocks A-C were collected. An average weight of 0.02 grams was measured from each sample, the seeds were scattered on a glass tray and a picture was taken. Using the digital analysis, the number of seeds in each sample was calculated.

Oil percentage in seeds—At the end of the experiment all seeds from plots of blocks A-C were collected. Columbia seeds from 3 plots were mixed grounded and then mounted onto the extraction chamber. 210 ml of n-Hexane (Cat No. 080951 Biolab Ltd.) were used as the solvent. The extraction was performed for 30 hours at medium heat 50° C. Once the extraction has ended the n-Hexane was evaporated using the evaporator at 35° C. and vacuum conditions. The process was repeated twice. The information gained from the Soxhlet extractor (Soxhlet, F. Die gewichtsanalytische Bestimmung des Milchfettes, Polytechnisches J. (Dingler's) 1879, 232, 461) was used to create a calibration curve for the Low Resonance NMR. The content of oil of all seed samples was determined using the Low Resonance NMR (MARAN Ultra—Oxford Instrument) and its MultiQuant software package.

Silique length analysis—On day 50 from sowing, 30 siliques from different plants in each plot were sampled in block A. The chosen siliques were green-yellow in color and were collected from the bottom parts of a grown plant's stem. A digital photograph was taken to determine silique's length.

Dry weight and seed yield—On day 80 from sowing, the plants from blocks A-C were harvested and left to dry at 30° C. in a drying chamber. The vegetative portion above ground was separated from the seeds. The total weight of the vegetative portion above ground and the seed weight of each plot were measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight (vegetative biomass)=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 30° C. in a drying chamber; all the above ground biomass that is not yield.

Seed yield per plant=total seed weight per plant (gr).

Oil yield—The oil yield was calculated using Formula XXIX above.

Harvest Index (seed)—The harvest index was calculated using Formula XV (described above).

Experimental Results

Nine different Arabidopsis ecotypes were grown and characterized for 18 parameters (named as vectors).

TABLE 50 Arabidopsis correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Blade circularity (cm) 1 Dry matter per plant (gr) 2 Harvest Index (value) 3 Lamina length (cm) 4 Lamina width (cm) 5 Leaf width/length (ratio) 6 Oil % per seed (percent) 7 Oil yield per plant (mg) 8 Seeds per silique (number) 9 Silique length (cm) 10 Total Leaf Area per plant (cm²) 11 Vegetative growth rate (cm²/day) 12 Until leaves were in overlap Fresh weight (gr) (at bolting stage) 13 Relative root growth (cm/day) in 14 early seedling stages Root length day 13 (cm) 15 Root length day 7 (cm) 16 1000 Seed weight (gr) 17 Seed yield per plant (gr) 18 Table 50. Provided are the Arabidopsis correlated parameters (correlation ID Nos. 1-18). Abbreviations: Cm = centimeter(s); gr = gram(s); mg = milligram(s).

The characterized values are summarized in Table 51. Correlation analysis is provided in Table 52 below.

TABLE 51 Measured parameters in Arabidopsis ecotypes Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 5 6 7 8 Line-9 1 0.51 0.48 0.45 0.37 0.50 0.38 0.39 0.49 0.41 2 0.64 1.27 1.05 1.28 1.69 1.34 0.81 1.21 1.35 3 0.53 0.35 0.56 0.33 0.37 0.32 0.45 0.51 0.41 4 2.77 3.54 3.27 3.78 3.69 4.60 3.88 3.72 4.15 5 1.38 1.70 1.46 1.37 1.83 1.65 1.51 1.82 1.67 6 0.35 0.29 0.32 0.26 0.36 0.27 0.30 0.34 0.31 7 34.42 31.19 38.05 27.76 35.49 32.91 31.56 30.79 34.02 8 118.63 138.73 224.06 116.26 218.27 142.11 114.15 190.06 187.62 9 45.44 53.47 58.47 35.27 48.56 37.00 39.38 40.53 25.53 10 1.06 1.26 1.31 1.47 1.24 1.09 1.18 1.18 1.00 11 46.86 109.89 58.36 56.80 114.66 110.82 88.49 121.79 93.04 12 0.31 0.38 0.48 0.47 0.43 0.64 0.43 0.38 0.47 13 1.51 3.61 1.94 2.08 3.56 4.34 3.47 3.48 3.71 14 0.63 0.66 1.18 1.09 0.91 0.77 0.61 0.70 0.78 15 4.42 8.53 5.62 4.83 5.96 6.37 5.65 7.06 7.04 16 0.94 1.76 0.70 0.73 0.99 1.16 1.28 1.41 1.25 17 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 18 0.34 0.44 0.59 0.42 0.61 0.43 0.36 0.62 0.55 Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Arabidopsis ecotypes.

TABLE 52 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across Arabidopsis accessions Gene Corr. Gene Corr. Name R P value Exp. set Set ID Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP1  0.77 2.42E− 5 17 LGP10 0.76 2.78E− 4 4 02 02 LGP10 0.77 2.65E− 4 13 LGP12 0.81 2.60E− 3 3 02 02 LGP18 0.83 2.01E− 3 3 LGP3  0.71 4.88E− 4 4 02 02 LGP46 0.71 7.57E− 3 10 02 LGP46 0.80 1.78E− 4 15 LGP46 0.85 6.92E− 1 17 02 03 LGP46 0.75 3.17E− 1 2 LGP46 0.94 4.58E− 1 5 02 04 LGP46 0.86 6.00E− 1 11 LGP46 0.78 2.20E− 1 10 03 02 LGP53 0.76 2.77E− 2 17 LGP53 0.75 3.06E− 2 10 02 02 LGP53 0.76 4.63E− 3 3 LGP53 0.80 1.83E− 4 14 02 02 LGP59 0.73 4.00E− 2 1 LGP59 0.79 2.06E− 5 13 02 02 LGP59 0.91 1.99E− 1 1 LGP6  0.81 2.73E− 3 15 03 02 LGP8  0.81 1.45E− 5 7 LYD691 0.76 4.75E− 3 17 02 02 LYD693 0.72 6.85E− 3 5 LYD693 0.80 1.60E− 5 4 02 02 LYD693 0.93 8.21E− 5 12 LYD693 0.76 2.74E− 1 1 04 02 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [leaf, flower, seed and root; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under normal conditions across Arabidopsis accessions. “Corr. ID”—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 50. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 50. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

Example 7 Production of Arabidopsis Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis of Normal and Nitrogen Limiting Conditions Using 44K Arabidopsis Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized an Arabidopsis oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 44,000 Arabidopsis genes and transcripts. To define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with NUE, yield components or vigor related parameters various plant characteristics of 14 different Arabidopsis ecotypes were analyzed. Among them, ten ecotypes encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Two tissues of plants [leaves and stems] growing at two different nitrogen fertilization levels (1.5 mM Nitrogen or 6 mM Nitrogen) were sampled and RNA was extracted as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 53 below.

TABLE 53 Tissues used for Arabidopsis transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Leaves at 6 mM Nitrogen fertilization 1 Leaves at 1.5 mM Nitrogen fertilization 2 Stems at 1.5 mM Nitrogen fertilization 3 Stems at 6 mM Nitrogen fertilization 4 Table 53: Provided are the identification (ID) digits of each of the Arabidopsis expression sets.

Assessment of Arabidopsis yield components and vigor related parameters under different nitrogen fertilization levels—10 Arabidopsis accessions in 2 repetitive plots each containing 8 plants per plot were grown at greenhouse. The growing protocol used was as follows: surface sterilized seeds were sown in Eppendorf tubes containing 0.5×Murashige-Skoog basal salt medium and grown at 23° C. under 12-hour light and 12-hour dark daily cycles for 10 days. Then, seedlings of similar size were carefully transferred to pots filled with a mix of perlite and peat in a 1:1 ratio. Constant nitrogen limiting conditions were achieved by irrigating the plants with a solution containing 1.5 mM inorganic nitrogen in the form of KNO₃, supplemented with 2 mM CaCl₂, 1.25 mM KH₂PO₄, 1.50 mM MgSO₄, 5 mM KCl, 0.01 mM H₃BO₃ and microelements, while normal irrigation conditions (Normal Nitrogen conditions) was achieved by applying a solution of 6 mM inorganic nitrogen also in the form of KNO₃, supplemented with 2 mM CaCl₂, 1.25 mM KH₂PO₄, 1.50 mM MgSO₄, 0.01 mM H₃BO₃ and microelements. To follow plant growth, trays were photographed the day nitrogen limiting conditions were initiated and subsequently every 3 days for about 15 additional days. Rosette plant area was then determined from the digital pictures. ImageJ software was used for quantifying the plant size from the digital pictures [rsb (dot) info (dot) nih (dot) gov/ij/] utilizing proprietary scripts designed to analyze the size of rosette area from individual plants as a function of time. The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program -ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Data parameters collected are summarized in Table 54, hereinbelow.

TABLE 54 Arabidopsis correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID N 1.5 mM; 1000 Seeds weight [gr.] 1 N 1.5 mM; % Biomass reduction compared to N 6 mM 2 N 1.5 mM; DW/N level [gr/SPAD unit] 3 N 1.5 mM; Dry Weight [gr./plant] 4 N 1.5 mM; Harvest Index (ratio) 5 N 1.5 mM; Leaf Blade Area at day 10 [cm²] 6 N 1.5 mM; Leaf Number at day 10 (number) 7 N 1.5 mM; RGR of Rosette Area at day 3 [cm²/day] 8 N 1.5 mM; Rosette Area at day 10 [cm²] 9 N 1.5 mM; Rosette Area at day 8 [cm²] 10 N 1.5 mM; N level/DW [SPAD unit/gr.] 11 N 1.5 mM; Seed Yield [gr./plant] 12 N 1.5 mM; % Seed yield reduction compared to N 6 mM 13 N 1.5 mM; N level/FW [SPAD unit/gr.] 14 N 1.5 mM; seed yield/N level [gr/ SPAD unit] 15 N 1.5 mM; seed yield/leaf blade [gr./cm²] 16 N 1.5 mM; seed yield/rosette area at day 10 [gr./cm²] 17 N 1.5 mM; t50 Flowering [day] 18 N 6 mM; DW/N level [gr./SPAD unit] 19 N 6 mM; N level/FW 20 N 6 mM; 1000 Seeds weight [gr.] 21 N 6 mM; Dry Weight [gr./plant] 22 N 6 mM; Harvest Index (ratio) 23 N 6 mM; Leaf Blade Area at day 10 (cm²) 24 N 6 mM; Leaf Number at day 10 (number) 25 N 6 mM; RGR of Rosette Area at day 3 [cm²/gr.] 26 N 6 mM; Rosette Area at day 10 [cm²] 27 N 6 mM; Rosette Area at day 8 [cm²] 28 N 6 mM; Seed Yield [gr./plant] 29 N 6 mM; Seed yield/N unit [gr./SPAD unit] 30 N 6 mM; seed yield/rosette area day at day 10 [gr./cm²] 31 N 6 mM; seed yield/leaf blade [gr./cm²] 32 N 6 mM; N level/DW (SPAD unit/gr. plant) 33 N 6 mM; t50 Flowering [day] 34 Table 54. Provided are the Arabidopsis correlated parameters (vectors). “N” = Nitrogen at the noted concentrations; “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “t50” = time where 50% of plants flowered; “gr./SPAD unit” = plant biomass expressed in grams per unit of nitrogen in plant measured by SPAD. “DW” = Plant Dry Weight; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “N level/DW” = plant Nitrogen level measured in SPAD unit per plant biomass [gr.]; “DW/N level” = plant biomass per plant [gr.]/SPAD unit; Rosette Area (measured using digital analysis); Plot Coverage at the indicated day [%](calculated by the dividing the total plant area with the total plot area); Leaf Blade Area at the indicated day [cm²] (measured using digital analysis); RGR (relative growth rate) of Rosette Area at the indicated day [cm²/day]; t50 Flowering [day[ (the day in which 50% of plant flower); seed yield/rosette area at day 10 [gr/cm²] (calculated); seed yield/leaf blade [gr/cm²] (calculated); seed yield/N level [gr/SPAD unit] (calculated).

Assessment of NUE, yield components and vigor-related parameters—Ten Arabidopsis ecotypes were grown in trays, each containing 8 plants per plot, in a greenhouse with controlled temperature conditions for about 12 weeks. Plants were irrigated with different nitrogen concentration as described above depending on the treatment applied. During this time, data was collected documented and analyzed. Most of chosen parameters were analyzed by digital imaging.

Digital Imaging—Greenhouse Assay

An image acquisition system, which consists of a digital reflex camera (Canon EOS 400D) attached with a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-S series) placed in a custom made Aluminum mount, was used for capturing images of plants planted in containers within an environmental controlled greenhouse. The image capturing process was repeated every 2-3 days starting at day 9-12 till day 16-19 (respectively) from transplanting.

An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 6 Mega Pixels (3072×2048 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data was calculated, including leaf number, leaf blade area, plot coverage, Rosette diameter and Rosette area.

Relative growth rate area: The relative growth rate area of the rosette and the leaves was calculated according to Formulas IX and XIII, respectively, above.

Seed yield and 1000 seeds weight—At the end of the experiment all seeds from all plots were collected and weighed in order to measure seed yield per plant in terms of total seed weight per plant (gr.). For the calculation of 1000 seed weight, an average weight of 0.02 grams was measured from each sample, the seeds were scattered on a glass tray and a picture was taken. Using the digital analysis, the number of seeds in each sample was calculated.

Dry weight and seed yield—At the end of the experiment, plant were harvested and left to dry at 30° C. in a drying chamber. The vegetative portion above ground was separated from the seeds. The total weight of the vegetative portion above ground and the seed weight of each plot were measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry Weight (Vegetative Biomass)=Total Weight of the Vegetative Portion Above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 30° C. in a drying chamber; all the above ground biomass that is not yield.

Seed yield per plant=total seed weight per plant (gr).

Harvest Index (seed)—The harvest index was calculated using Formula XV as described above.

T₅₀ Days to flowering—Each of the repeats was monitored for flowering date. Days of flowering was calculated from sowing date till 50% of the plots flowered.

Plant nitrogen level—The chlorophyll content of leaves is a good indicator of the nitrogen plant status since the degree of leaf greenness is highly correlated to this parameter. Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at time of flowering. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot. Based on this measurement, parameters such as the ratio between seed yield per nitrogen unit [seed yield/N level=seed yield per plant [gr.]/SPAD unit], plant DW per nitrogen unit [DW/N level=plant biomass per plant [gr.]/SPAD unit], and nitrogen level per gram of biomass [N level/DW=SPAD unit/plant biomass per plant (gr.)] were calculated.

Percent of seed yield reduction—measures the amount of seeds obtained in plants when grown under nitrogen-limiting conditions compared to seed yield produced at normal nitrogen levels expressed in percentages (%).

Experimental Results

10 different Arabidopsis accessions (ecotypes) were grown and characterized for 34 parameters as described above. The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software (Table 55 below). Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets (Table 53) and the average parameters were conducted

TABLE 55 Measured parameters in Arabidopsis accessions Ecotype/ Line- Line Line- Line- Line- Line Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 -2 3 4 5 -6 7 8 9 10 1 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 2 60.75 76.71 78.56 78.14 78.64 73.19 83.07 77.19 70.12 62.97 4 0.16 0.12 0.08 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.11 0.15 0.17 0.18 5 0.19 0.20 0.29 0.08 0.07 0.24 0.18 0.08 0.08 0.03 6 0.33 0.27 0.37 0.39 0.37 0.39 0.35 0.38 0.31 0.37 7 6.88 7.31 7.31 7.88 7.75 7.63 7.19 8.63 5.93 7.94 8 0.63 0.79 0.50 0.49 0.72 0.83 0.65 0.67 0.64 0.61 9 1.43 1.33 1.77 1.97 1.83 1.82 1.64 2.00 1.15 1.75 10 0.76 0.71 1.06 1.16 1.00 0.91 0.94 1.12 0.64 1.00 12 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 13 72.56 84.70 78.78 88.00 92.62 76.71 81.94 91.30 85.76 91.82 16 0.09 0.09 0.06 0.03 0.02 0.08 0.06 0.03 0.04 0.01 17 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 18 15.97 20.97 14.84 24.71 23.70 18.06 19.49 23.57 21.89 23.57 21 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 22 0.42 0.53 0.38 0.52 0.58 0.50 0.63 0.65 0.57 0.50 23 0.28 0.31 0.28 0.16 0.21 0.28 0.17 0.21 0.17 0.14 24 0.34 0.31 0.52 0.45 0.43 0.50 0.43 0.51 0.41 0.43 25 6.25 7.31 8.06 8.75 8.75 8.38 7.13 9.44 6.31 8.06 26 0.69 1.02 0.61 0.60 0.65 0.68 0.58 0.61 0.52 0.48 27 1.41 1.57 2.67 2.42 2.14 2.47 1.97 2.72 1.64 2.21 28 0.76 0.86 1.48 1.28 1.10 1.24 1.09 1.41 0.89 1.22 29 0.12 0.17 0.11 0.08 0.12 0.14 0.11 0.14 0.09 0.07 31 0.08 0.11 0.04 0.03 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.06 0.03 32 0.34 0.53 0.21 0.18 0.28 0.28 0.25 0.27 0.24 0.16 34 16.37 20.50 14.63 24.00 23.60 15.03 19.75 22.89 18.80 23.38 3 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 11 167.30 241.06 194.98 169.34 157.82 14 45.59 42.11 53.11 67.00 28.15 15 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 19 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.03 20 22.49 28.27 33.32 39.00 17.64 30 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 33 53.71 54.62 66.48 68.05 35.55 Table 55. Provided are the measured parameters under various treatments in various ecotypes (Arabidopsis accessions).

TABLE 56 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal or abiotic stress conditions across Arabidopsis accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP1 0.70 2.35E−02 2 34 LGP1 0.80 5.70E−03 1 18 LGP1 0.91 2.31E−04 1 34 LGP1 0.76 1.14E−02 1 13 LGP1 0.72 1.80E−02 3 28 LGP1 0.73 1.71E−02 3 5 LGP10 0.77 1.47E−02 4 21 LGP18 0.81 4.90E−03 2 2 LGP3 0.72 2.76E−02 4 28 LGP3 0.72 2.92E−02 4 7 LGP39 0.85 1.66E−03 2 18 LGP39 0.76 1.12E−02 2 34 LGP39 0.75 1.17E−02 2 13 LGP39 0.71 3.35E−02 4 7 LGP44 0.81 4.29E−03 2 18 LGP44 0.78 8.00E−03 2 13 LGP44 0.70 2.36E−02 2 22 LGP44 0.87 9.66E−04 3 18 LGP44 0.79 6.40E−03 3 34 LGP44 0.78 7.22E−03 3 13 LGP46 0.83 3.10E−03 2 18 LGP46 0.89 6.48E−04 2 34 LGP46 0.92 1.84E−04 2 13 LGP46 0.85 1.68E−03 2 22 LGP46 0.71 3.39E−02 4 27 LGP46 0.71 3.25E−02 4 9 LGP46 0.87 9.96E−04 1 18 LGP46 0.79 6.55E−03 1 34 LGP46 0.83 2.66E−03 1 13 LGP46 0.76 1.00E−02 1 1 LGP46 0.76 1.13E−02 3 34 LGP50 0.79 6.49E−03 2 18 LGP50 0.76 1.10E−02 2 34 LGP50 0.73 1.64E−02 2 13 LGP50 0.72 1.92E−02 1 22 LGP53 0.80 8.99E−03 4 25 LGP53 0.76 1.86E−02 4 28 LGP53 0.71 3.13E−02 4 10 LGP53 0.83 5.75E−03 4 7 LGP53 0.76 1.85E−02 4 27 LGP59 0.82 3.33E−03 2 2 LGP59 0.76 1.12E−02 1 5 LGP6 0.78 8.36E−03 1 17 LGP6 0.76 9.94E−03 1 16 LGP6 0.78 8.30E−03 1 12 LGP6 0.88 7.08E−04 1 5 LGP6 0.81 4.68E−03 3 23 LGP6 0.81 4.39E−03 3 12 LGP6 0.86 1.62E−03 3 5 LGP9 0.73 1.62E−02 2 17 LGP9 0.91 2.42E−04 2 31 LGP9 0.78 7.36E−03 2 16 LGP9 0.92 1.99E−04 2 32 LGP9 0.89 4.89E−04 2 26 LGP9 0.88 1.94E−03 4 25 LGP9 0.74 2.27E−02 4 7 LGP9 0.73 2.61E−02 4 27 LGP9 0.73 2.62E−02 4 9 LYD69 0.83 2.65E−03 2 21 LYD691 0.90 9.18E−04 4 21 LYD69 0.71 2.25E−02 1 21 LYD691 0.92 1.81E−04 3 21 Table 56. Table 56. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Leaves or stems; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under nitrogen limiting conditions or normal conditions across Arabidopsis accessions. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 54. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 53. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

Example 8 Production of Sorghum Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with ABST Related Parameters Using 44K Sorghum Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a sorghum oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 44,000 sorghum genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with ABST, yield and NUE components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 17 different sorghum hybrids were analyzed. Among them, 10 hybrids encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

I. Correlation of Sorghum Varieties Across Ecotypes Grown Under Regular Growth Conditions, Severe Drought Conditions and Low Nitrogen Conditions

Experimental Procedures

17 Sorghum varieties were grown in 3 repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows:

1. Regular growth conditions: sorghum plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols (370,000 liter per dunam (1000 square meters), fertilization of 14 units of nitrogen per dunam entire growth period).

2. Drought conditions: sorghum seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal condition until around 35 days from sowing, around stage V8 (eight green leaves are fully expanded, booting not started yet). At this point, irrigation was stopped, and severe drought stress was developed.

3. Low Nitrogen fertilization conditions: sorghum plants were fertilized with 50% less amount of nitrogen in the field than the amount of nitrogen applied in the regular growth treatment. All the fertilizer was applied before flowering.

Analyzed Sorghum tissues—All 10 selected Sorghum hybrids were sampled per each treatment. Tissues [Flag leaf, Flower meristem and Flower] from plants growing under normal conditions, severe drought stress and low nitrogen conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 57 below.

TABLE 57 Sorghum transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Flag leaf at flowering stage under 1 drought growth conditions Flag leaf at flowering stage under 2 low nitrogen growth conditions Flag leaf at flowering stage under 3 normal growth conditions Flower meristem at flowering stage 4 under drought growth conditions Flower meristem at flowering stage 5 under low nitrogen growth conditions Flower meristem at flowering stage 6 under normal growth conditions Flower at flowering stage under 7 drought growth conditions Flower at flowering stage under 8 low nitrogen growth conditions Flower at flowering stage under 9 normal growth conditions Table 57: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets 1-9. Flag leaf = the leaf below the flower; Flower meristem = Apical meristem following panicle initiation; Flower = the flower at the anthesis day. Expression sets 3, 6, and 9 are from plants grown under normal conditions; Expression sets 2, 5 and 8 are from plants grown under Nitrogen-limiting conditions; Expression sets 1, 4 and 7 are from plants grown under drought conditions.

The following parameters were collected using digital imaging system:

At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’ and the following parameters were measured and collected:

Average Grain Area (cm²)—A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Upper and Lower Ratio Average of Grain Area, width, length, diameter and perimeter—Grain projection of area, width, diameter and perimeter were extracted from the digital images using open source package imagej (nih). Seed data was analyzed in plot average levels as follows:

Average of all seeds;

Average of upper 20% fraction—contained upper 20% fraction of seeds;

Average of lower 20% fraction—contained lower 20% fraction of seeds;

Further on, ratio between each fraction and the plot average was calculated for each of the data parameters.

At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system.

(i) Head average area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

(ii) Head average length (cm)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ length (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

(iii) Head average width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ width was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

(iv) Head average perimeter (cm)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ perimeter was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

The image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37,

Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 5 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Total Grain Weight/Head (gr.) (grain yield)—At the end of the experiment (plant ‘Heads’) heads from plots within blocks A-C were collected. 5 heads were separately threshed and grains were weighted, all additional heads were threshed together and weighted as well. The average grain weight per head was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by number of total heads per plot (based on plot). In case of 5 heads, the total grains weight of 5 heads was divided by 5.

FW Head/Plant gram—At the end of the experiment (when heads were harvested) total and 5 selected heads per plots within blocks A-C were collected separately. The heads (total and 5) were weighted (gr.) separately and the average fresh weight per plant was calculated for total (FW Head/Plant gr. based on plot) and for 5 (FW Head/Plant gr. based on 5 plants) plants.

Plant height—Plants were characterized for height during growing period at 5 time points. In each measure, plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest leaf.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 64 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Vegetative fresh weight and Head—At the end of the experiment (when Inflorescence were dry) all Inflorescence and vegetative material from plots within blocks A-C were collected. The biomass and Heads weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided by the number of Heads.

Plant biomass (Fresh weight)—At the end of the experiment (when Inflorescence were dry) the vegetative material from plots within blocks A-C were collected. The plants biomass without the Inflorescence were measured and divided by the number of Plants.

FW Heads/(FW Heads+FW Plants)—The total fresh weight of heads and their respective plant biomass were measured at the harvest day. The heads weight was divided by the sum of weights of heads and plants.

Experimental Results

17 different sorghum varieties were grown and characterized for different parameters: The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 59-60) and a subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets (Table 57) and the average parameters, was conducted (Table 61). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 58 Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Average Grain Area (cm²), Drought 1 Average Grain Area (cm²), Low N 2 Average Grain Area (cm²), Normal 3 FW-Head/Plant (gr) (based on plot), Drought 4 FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Low N 5 FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Normal 6 FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on 5 plants), Low N 7 FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on 5 plants), Normal 8 FW Heads/(FW Heads + FW Plants)(all plot), 9 Drought FW Heads/(FW Heads + FW Plants)(all plot), 10 Low N FW Heads/(FW Heads + FW Plants) (all plot), 11 Normal FW/Plant (gr) (based on plot), Drought 12 FW/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Low N 13 FW/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Normal 14 Final Plant Height (cm), Drought 15 Final Plant Height (cm), Low N 16 Final Plant Height (cm), Normal 17 Head Average Area (cm²), Drought 18 Head Average Area (cm²), Low N 19 Head Average Area (cm²), Normal 20 Head Average Length (cm), Drought 21 Head Average Length (cm), Low N 22 Head Average Length (cm), Normal 23 Head Average Perimeter (cm), Drought 24 Head Average Perimeter (cm), Low N 25 Head Average Perimeter (cm), Normal 26 Head Average Width (cm), Drought 27 Head Average Width (cm), Low N 28 Head Average Width (cm), Normal 29 Leaf SPAD 64 DPS (Days Post Sowing), Drought 30 Leaf SPAD 64 DPS (Days Post Sowing), Low N 31 Leaf SPAD 64 DPS (Days Post Sowing), Normal 32 Lower Ratio Average Grain Area (value), Low N 33 Lower Ratio Average Grain Area (value), Normal 34 Lower Ratio Average Grain Length (value), Low N 35 Lower Ratio Average Grain Length (value), Normal 36 Lower Ratio Average Grain Perimeter (value), 37 Low N Lower Ratio Average Grain Perimeter, (value) 38 Normal Lower Ratio Average Grain Width (value), Low N 39 Lower Ratio Average Grain Width (value), Normal 40 Total grain weight/Head (based on plot) (gr.), Low N 41 Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on 5 heads), 42 Low N Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on 5 heads), 43 Normal Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on plot), 44 Normal Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on plot), 45 Drought Upper Ratio Average Grain Area, Drought (value) 46 Upper Ratio Average Grain Area (value), Low N 47 Upper Ratio Average Grain Area (value), Normal 48 [Grain Yield + plant biomass/SPAD 49 64 DPS] (gr.), Normal [Grain Yield + plant biomass/SPAD 50 64 DPS] (gr.), Low N [Grain yield/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr.), Low N 51 [Grain yield/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr.), Normal 52 [Plant biomass (FW)/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr) Drought 53 [Plant biomass (FW)/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr.), Low N 54 Table 58. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors). “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “normal” = standard growth conditions.

TABLE 59 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.09 0.09 0.11 2 0.11 0.11 0.14 0.12 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.12 3 0.105 0.112 0.131 0.129 0.139 0.141 0.110 0.113 0.102 4 154.90 122.02 130.51 241.11 69.03 186.41 62.11 39.02 58.94 5 214.78 205.05 73.49 122.96 153.07 93.23 134.11 77.43 129.63 6 175.15 223.49 56.40 111.62 67.34 66.90 126.18 107.74 123.86 7 388.00 428.67 297.67 280.00 208.33 303.67 436.00 376.33 474.67 8 406.50 518.00 148.00 423.00 92.00 101.33 423.50 386.50 409.50 9 0.42 0.47 0.42 0.37 0.23 0.31 0.41 0.44 0.40 10 0.51 0.51 0.17 0.39 0.21 0.19 0.48 0.37 0.42 11 0.51 0.51 0.12 0.26 0.12 0.18 0.46 0.43 0.42 12 207.99 138.02 255.41 402.22 233.55 391.75 89.31 50.61 87.02 13 204.78 199.64 340.51 240.60 537.78 359.40 149.20 129.06 178.71 14 162.56 212.59 334.83 313.46 462.28 318.26 151.13 137.60 167.98 15 89.40 75.73 92.10 94 .30 150.80 110.73 99.20 84.00 99.00 16 104.00 80.93 204.73 125.40 225.40 208.07 121.40 100.27 121.13 17 95.25 79.20 197.85 234.20 189.40 194.67 117.25 92.80 112.65 18 83.14 107.79 88.68 135.91 90.76 123.95 86.06 85.20 113.10 19 96.24 214.72 98.59 182.83 119.64 110.19 172.36 84.81 156.25 20 120.14 167.60 85.14 157.26 104.00 102.48 168.54 109.32 135.13 21 21.63 21.94 21.57 22.01 20.99 28.60 21.35 20.81 24.68 22 23.22 25.58 20.93 28.43 24.32 22.63 32.11 20.38 26.69 23 25.58 26.84 21.02 26.84 23.14 21.82 31.33 23.18 25.70 24 52.78 64.49 56.59 64.37 53.21 71.66 55.61 52.96 69.83 25 56.32 79.20 53.25 76.21 67.27 59.49 79.28 51.52 69.88 26 61.22 67.90 56.26 65.38 67.46 67.46 74.35 56.16 61.64 27 4.83 6.31 5.16 7.78 5.28 5.49 5.04 5.07 5.77 28 5.26 10.41 5.93 8.25 6.19 6.12 6.80 5.25 7.52 29 5.97 7.92 4.87 7.43 5.58 5.88 6.78 5.99 6.62 30 40.58 40.88 45.01 42.30 45.24 40.56 44.80 45.07 40.65 31 38.33 38.98 42.33 40.90 43.15 39.85 42.68 43.31 39.01 32 43.01 . 43.26 44.74 45.76 41.61 45.21 45.14 43.03 33 0.82 0.77 0.81 0.79 0.78 0.80 0.83 0.79 0.81 34 0.825 0.740 0.778 0.802 0.697 0.699 0.827 0.805 0.841 35 0.91 0.90 0.92 0.90 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.89 0.90 36 0.914 0.884 0.921 0.908 0.890 0.877 0.913 0.903 0.920 37 0.90 0.88 0.92 0.90 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.89 0.90 38 0.91 0.87 0.91 0.95 0.90 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.92 39 0.90 0.85 0.89 0.88 0.86 0.87 0.91 0.89 0.90 40 0.91 0.83 0.85 0.87 0.79 0.80 0.90 0.89 0.91 41 25.95 30.57 19.37 35.62 25.18 22.18 49.96 27.48 51.12 42 50.27 50.93 36.13 73.10 37.87 36.40 71.67 35.00 76.73 43 47.40 46.30 28.37 70.40 32.15 49.23 63.45 44.45 56.65 44 31.12 26.35 18.72 38.38 26.67 28.84 47.67 31.00 39.99 45 22.11 16.77 9.19 104.44 3.24 22.00 9.97 18.58 29.27 46 1.31 1.19 1.29 1.46 1.21 1.21 47 1.18 1.31 1.11 1.21 1.19 1.18 1.16 1.23 1.17 48 1.22 1.30 1.13 1.14 1.16 1.15 1.19 1.23 1.25 49 4.50 8.17 7.87 10.68 8.34 4.40 3.74 4.83 3.67 50 6.02 5.91 8.50 6.75 13.05 9.58 4.67 3.61 5.89 51 0.68 0.78 0.46 0.87 0.58 0.56 1.17 0.63 1.31 52 3.78 7.74 7.01 10.10 7.65 3.34 3.05 3.90 2.83 53 5.13 3.38 5.67 9.51 5.16 9.66 1.99 1.12 2.14 54 5.34 5.12 8.05 5.88 12.46 9.02 3.50 2.98 4.58 55 0.72 0.43 0.86 0.58 0.69 1.05 0.69 0.93 0.84 Table 59: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (ecotype) under normal, low nitrogen and drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 60 Additional measured parameters in Sorghum accessions Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 013 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.11 3 0.118 0.131 0.111 0.117 0.108 0.105 0.110 0.105 4 76.37 33.47 42.20 41.53 131.67 60.84 44.33 185.44 5 99.83 76.95 84.25 92.24 138.83 113.32 95.50 129.49 6 102.75 82.33 77.59 91.17 150.44 109.10 107.58 130.88 7 437.67 383.00 375.00 425.00 434.00 408.67 378.50 432.00 8 328.95 391.00 435.75 429.50 441.00 415.75 429.50 428.50 9 0.44 0.47 0.47 0.48 0.35 0.35 0.23 0.33 10 0.44 0.43 0.39 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.43 0.42 11 0.44 0.46 0.45 0.45 0.51 0.46 0.44 0.39 12 120.43 37.21 48.18 44.20 231.60 116.01 123.08 342.50 13 124.27 101.33 132.12 117.90 176.99 143.67 126.98 180.45 14 128.97 97.62 99.32 112.24 157.42 130.55 135.66 209.21 15 92.20 81.93 98.80 86.47 99.60 83.00 83.53 92.30 16 94.53 110.00 115.07 104.73 173.67 115.60 138.80 144.40 17 97.50 98.00 100.00 105.60 151.15 117.10 124.45 126.50 18 100.79 80.41 126.89 86.41 92.29 77.89 76.93 19 136.71 137.70 96.54 158.19 163.95 138.39 135.46 165.64 20 169.03 156.10 112.14 154.74 171.70 168.51 162.51 170.46 21 24.28 21.95 24.98 19.49 20.42 16.81 18.88 22 26.31 25.43 23.11 27.87 28.88 27.64 25.52 30.33 23 28.82 28.13 22.97 28.09 30.00 30.54 27.17 29.26 24 65.14 55.27 69.06 53.32 56.29 49.12 51.88 25 66.17 67.37 57.90 70.61 73.76 66.87 65.40 75.97 26 71.40 68.56 56.44 67.79 71.54 78.94 67.03 74.11 27 5.37 4.66 6.35 5.58 5.76 5.86 5.10 28 6.59 6.85 5.32 7.25 7.19 6.27 6.57 6.82 29 7.42 6.98 6.19 7.02 7.18 7.00 7.39 7.35 30 45.43 42.58 44.18 44.60 42.41 43.25 40.30 40.75 31 42.71 40.08 43.98 45.44 44.75 42.58 43.81 46.73 32 45.59 44.83 45.33 46.54 43.99 45.09 45.14 43.13 33 0.77 0.74 0.80 0.79 0.82 0.80 0.81 0.81 34 0.788 0.765 0.803 0.806 0.821 0.814 0.818 0.817 35 0.91 0.89 0.90 0.89 0.91 0.89 0.89 0.90 36 0.923 0.893 0.913 0.907 0.911 0.904 0.903 0.913 37 0.91 0.89 0.90 0.90 0.91 0.89 0.90 0.90 38 0.93 0.91 0.92 0.90 0.91 0.90 0.91 0.91 39 0.86 0.84 0.90 0.89 0.91 0.90 0.90 0.90 40 0.85 0.86 0.88 0.90 0.90 0.91 0.90 0.90 41 36.84 29.45 26.70 29.42 51.12 37.04 39.85 41.78 42 57.58 42.93 36.47 68.60 71.80 49.27 43.87 52.07 43 60.00 45.45 58.19 70.60 70.10 53.95 59.87 52.65 44 38.36 32.10 32.69 32.79 51.53 35.71 38.31 42.44 45 10.45 14.77 12.86 18.24 11.60 18.65 16.36 46 47 1.22 1.24 1.19 1.23 1.16 1.34 1.21 1.21 48 1.24 1.32 1.22 1.18 1.18 1.22 1.25 1.22 49 2.89 2.91 3.12 4.75 3.69 3.85 5.84 50 3.77 3.26 3.61 3.24 5.10 4.25 3.81 4.76 51 0.86 0.73 0.61 0.65 1.14 0.87 0.91 0.89 52 2.18 2.19 2.41 3.58 2.90 3.01 4.85 53 2.65 0.87 1.09 0.99 5.46 2.68 3.05 8.40 54 2.91 2.53 3.00 2.60 3.96 3.38 2.90 3.86 55 0.72 0.72 0.70 1.17 0.79 0.85 0.98 Table 60: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (ecotype) under normal, low nitrogen and drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 61 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal or abiotic stress conditions across Sorghum accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP102 0.75 1.27E−02 6 17 LGP102 0.70 2.42E−02 6 20 LGP102 0.87 1.10E−03 4 53 LGP102 0.86 1.50E−03 4 4 LGP102 0.87 9.79E−04 4 12 LGP52 0.71 2.13E−02 6 17 LGP52 0.78 7.56E−03 6 44 LGP52 0.74 1.48E−02 6 36 MGP7 0.76 1.06E−02 9 17 Table 61. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Flag leaf, Flower meristem, stem and Flower; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under stress conditions or normal conditions across Sorghum accessions. P = p value.

II. Correlation of Sorghum Varieties Across Ecotype Grown Under Salinity Stress and Cold Stress Conditions

Sorghum vigor related parameters under 100 mM NaCl and low temperature (10±2° C.)—Ten Sorghum varieties were grown in 3 repetitive plots, each containing 17 plants, at a net house under semi-hydroponics conditions. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Sorghum seeds were sown in trays filled with a mix of vermiculite and peat in a 1:1 ratio. Following germination, the trays were transferred to the high salinity solution (100 mM NaCl in addition to the Full Hogland solution), low temperature (10±2° C. in the presence of Full Hogland solution) or at Normal growth solution [Full Hogland solution at 28±2° C.].

Full Hogland solution consists of: KNO₃—0.808 grams/liter, MgSO₄—0.12 grams/liter, KH₂PO₄—0.172 grams/liter and 0.01% (volume/volume) of ‘Super coratin’ micro elements (Iron-EDDHA [ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)]—40.5 grams/liter; Mn—20.2 grams/liter; Zn 10.1 grams/liter; Co 1.5 grams/liter; and Mo 1.1 grams/liter), solution's pH should be 6.5-6.8].

All 10 selected varieties were sampled per each treatment. Two tissues [leaves and roots] growing at 100 mM NaCl, low temperature (10±2° C.) or under Normal conditions (full Hogland at a temperature between 28±2° C.) were sampled and RNA was extracted as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”.

TABLE 62 Sorghum transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID root at vegetative stage (V4-V5) 1 under cold conditions root vegetative stage (V4-V5) 2 under normal conditions root vegetative stage (V4-V5) 3 under low nitrogen conditions root vegetative stage (V4-V5) 4 under salinity conditions vegetative meristem at vegetative 5 stage (V4-V5) under cold conditions vegetative meristem at vegetative 6 stage (V4-V5) under low nitrogen conditions vegetative meristem at vegetative 7 stage (V4-V5) under salinity conditions vegetative meristem at vegetative 8 stage (V4-V5) under normal conditions Table 62: Provided are the Sorghum transcriptome expression sets. Cold conditions = 10 ± 2° C.; NaCl = 100 mM NaCl; low nitrogen = 1.2 mM Nitrogen; Normal conditions = 16 mM Nitrogen.

Sorghum Biomass, Vigor, Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Growth-Related Components

Root DW (dry weight)—At the end of the experiment, the root material was collected, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Shoot DW—At the end of the experiment, the shoot material (without roots) was collected, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Total biomass—total biomass including roots and shoots.

Plant leaf number—Plants were characterized for leaf number at 3 time points during the growing period. In each measure, plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of 3 selected plants per plot.

Shoot/root Ratio—The shoot/root Ratio was calculated using Formula XXX above.

Percent of reduction of root biomass compared to normal—the difference (reduction in percent) between root biomass under normal and under low nitrogen conditions.

Percent of reduction of shoot biomass compared to normal—the difference (reduction in percent) between shoot biomass under normal and under low nitrogen conditions.

Percent of reduction of total biomass compared to normal—the difference (reduction in percent) between total biomass (shoot and root) under normal and under low nitrogen conditions

Plant height—Plants were characterized for height at 3 time points during the growing period. In each measure, plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest leaf

Relative Growth Rate of leaf number was calculated using Formula VIII above.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 64 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Root Biomass [DW-gr.]/SPAD—root biomass divided by SPAD results.

Shoot Biomass [DW-gr.]/SPAD—shoot biomass divided by SPAD results.

Total Biomass-Root+Shoot [DW-gr.]/SPAD—total biomass divided by SPAD results.

Plant nitrogen level—calculated as SPAD/leaf biomass—The chlorophyll content of leaves is a good indicator of the nitrogen plant status since the degree of leaf greenness is highly correlated to this parameter.

Experimental Results

10 different Sorghum varieties were grown and characterized for the following parameters: “Leaf number Normal”=leaf number per plant under normal conditions (average of five plants); “Plant Height Normal”=plant height under normal conditions (average of five plants); “Root DW 100 mM NaCl”—root dry weight per plant under salinity conditions (average of five plants); The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Table 64 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets and the average parameters were conducted (Table 65). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 63 Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID DW Root/Plant (gr./number)-100 mM NaCl 1 DW Root/Plant, (gr/number) under Cold 2 DW Root/Plant (gr./number) at Low Nitrogen 3 DW Root/Plant (gr/number)-Normal 4 DW Shoot/Plant (gr./number) at Low Nitrogen 5 DW Shoot/Plant (gr./number)-100 mM NaCl 6 DW Shoot/Plant, (gr/number) under Cold 7 DW Shoot/Plant (gr/number)-Normal 8 Leaf number (at time point 1), under 9 100 mM NaCl Leaf number (at time point 1), under Cold 10 Leaf number (at time point 1), [Low Nitrogen] 11 Leaf number (at time point 1), under Normal 12 Leaf number (at time point 2), under 13 100 mM NaCl Leaf number (at time point 2), under Cold 14 Leaf number (at time point 2), [Low Nitrogen] 15 Leaf number (at time point 2), under Normal 16 Leaf number (at time point 3), under 17 100 mM NaCl Leaf number (at time point 3), under Cold 18 Leaf number (at time point 3), [Low Nitrogen] 19 Leaf number (at time point 3), under Normal 20 Low N-total biomass DW (gr.) 21 Low N-Shoot/Root (ratio) 22 Low N (low nitrogen) roots DW (gr.) 23 Low N (low nitrogen) shoots DW (gr.) 24 Low N percent root biomass compared to normal 25 Low N percent shoot biomass compared to normal 26 Low N percent total biomass reduction 27 compared to normal N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr) [Low Nitrogen] 28 N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr) [100 mM NaCl] 29 N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr) [Cold] 30 N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr) [Normal] 31 Normal, Shoot/Root (ratio) 32 Roots DW (gr) [normal] 33 Shoots DW (gr) [normal] 34 Total biomass (gr) [normal] 35 Plant Height (at time point 1), (cm) 36 [100 mM NaCl] Plant Height (at time point 1), (cm) 37 under Cold Plant Height (at time point 1), (cm) 38 [Low Nitrogen] Plant Height (at time point 1), (cm) [normal] 39 Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) under Cold 40 Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) 41 [Low Nitrogen] Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) [normal] 42 Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) 43 [100 mM NaCl] Plant Height (at time point 3), (cm) 44 [100 mM NaCl] Plant Height (at time point 3), (cm) 45 [Low Nitrogen] RGR Leaf Num Normal 46 Root Biomass (DW-gr.)/SPAD [100 mM NaCl] 47 Root Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD [Cold] 48 Root Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD [Low Nitrogen] 49 Root Biomass [DW, gr.]/SPAD [Normal] 50 SPAD, underCold 51 SPAD (number) at Low Nitrogen 52 SPAD (number)-Normal 53 SPAD at 100 mM NaCl (number) 54 Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD [100 mM NaCl] 55 Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD [Cold] 56 Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD [Low Nitrogen] 57 Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD [Normal] 58 Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; 59 DW, gr.)/SPAD [100 mM NaCl] Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; DW, gr.)/ 60 SPAD [Cold] Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; DW, gr.)/ 61 SPAD [Low Nitrogen] Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; DW, gr.)/ 62 SPAD [Normal] Table 63: Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters. Cold conditions = 10 ± 2° C.; NaCl = 100 mM NaCl; low nitrogen = 1.2 mM Nitrogen; Normal conditions = 16 mM Nitrogen.

TABLE 64 Sorghum accessions, measured parameters Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4 0.05 0.13 0.17 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.11 8 0.10 0.24 0.31 0.16 0.19 0.19 0.24 0.24 0.19 0.24 12 3.00 3.07 3.80 3.20 3.23 3.23 3.13 3.43 3.00 3.00 16 4.17 4.50 4.80 4.60 4.53 4.97 4.60 4.93 4.50 4.57 20 5.33 5.87 6.20 5.80 5.80 5.73 5.73 6.00 5.60 6.07 39 7.47 9.30 12.87 8.57 8.93 8.53 10.67 10.27 7.87 8.77 42 14.97 18.23 22.10 17.60 18.07 18.53 22.83 22.03 20.03 21.80 46 0.16 0.19 0.16 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.20 53 26.70 29.33 29.86 29.09 24.98 24.62 30.79 25.50 32.89 33.54 3 0.04 0.11 0.20 0.10 0.08 0.09 0.13 0.09 0.09 0.09 5 0.08 0.19 0.33 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.26 0.20 0.13 0.18 11 3.00 3.13 3.87 3.53 3.20 3.13 3.13 3.30 3.07 3.07 15 4.00 4.58 4.97 4.73 4.60 4.70 4.97 4.87 4.67 4.57 19 3.90 4.27 4.70 4.23 4.30 4.57 4.63 4.67 3.97 4.10 38 6.73 9.77 12.70 8.67 9.77 9.23 10.27 10.10 7.93 8.23 41 13.30 20.63 23.70 18.03 19.33 19.20 21.87 22.13 18.20 21.00 45 22.23 31.07 34.67 30.03 30.83 29.87 30.87 32.40 29.37 30.70 52 26.88 28.02 29.64 31.52 29.61 26.82 28.48 28.21 30.48 27.63 1 0.05 0.10 0.12 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.14 0.10 0.16 0.14 6 0.09 0.19 0.20 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.15 0.19 0.10 0.12 9 3.00 3.13 3.40 3.07 3.33 3.07 3.07 3.27 3.00 3.07 13 4.00 4.37 4.87 4.60 4.50 4.53 4.50 4.77 4.32 4.20 17 4.00 4.13 4.57 4.43 4.07 4.33 4.13 4.50 3.78 4.20 36 7.90 9.50 10.93 7.93 9.70 8.53 8.90 10.37 7.00 7.83 43 14.20 16.27 20.37 13.33 15.90 16.53 15.47 18.93 13.68 15.77 44 21.80 23.17 30.37 22.83 23.70 23.30 22.47 26.83 20.28 23.57 54 32.73 35.14 27.97 30.93 34.53 29.99 32.09 31.86 32.51 34.32 2 0.07 0.11 0.16 0.09 0.08 0.11 0.14 0.13 0.11 0.14 7 0.08 0.15 0.19 0.11 0.13 0.16 0.15 0.15 0.11 0.14 10 3.00 3.00 3.50 3.17 3.40 3.20 3.13 3.07 3.07 3.00 14 3.90 4.13 4.63 4.17 4.27 4.23 4.20 4.30 4.17 4.00 18 4.73 5.33 5.43 5.50 5.33 5.07 4.50 5.40 5.37 5.18 37 6.50 8.77 10.40 6.80 9.03 9.00 7.97 9.17 6.50 7.23 40 11.17 15.87 18.43 12.20 16.03 14.63 14.60 17.27 13.43 13.91 51 28.62 30.31 27.04 32.28 28.28 29.89 32.47 28.63 31.71 29.56 30 6.05 5.68 4.98 5.87 5.30 5.90 7.21 5.30 5.91 5.70 48 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.003 0.003 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.003 0.005 56 0.003 0.005 0.007 0.003 0.005 0.006 0.005 0.005 0.004 0.005 60 0.005 0.009 0.013 0.006 0.008 0.009 0.009 0.010 0.007 0.009 21 27.53 64.12 115.23 58.02 52.22 35.10 84.57 63.73 47.03 60.00 22 1.87 1.71 1.73 1.57 2.10 1.81 2.06 2.10 1.50 2.00 23 9.65 23.54 43.88 22.58 16.89 12.44 28.19 20.53 18.76 20.09 24 17.88 40.59 71.35 35.44 35.33 22.66 56.38 43.20 28.27 39.91 25 84.53 80.95 117.00 100.52 72.54 71.78 93.47 76.05 86.82 80.51 26 81.57 79.16 104.75 103.50 83.71 83.22 107.69 81.39 70.30 75.86 27 82.58 79.81 109.10 102.32 79.74 78.77 102.49 79.59 76.07 77.36 28 6.89 6.57 6.31 7.45 6.89 5.87 6.15 6.05 7.68 6.74 49 0.002 0.004 0.007 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.005 0.003 0.003 0.003 57 0.003 0.007 0.011 0.005 0.005 0.006 0.009 0.007 0.004 0.007 61 0.005 0.011 0.018 0.008 0.008 0.009 0.014 0.010 0.007 0.010 29 8.18 8.50 6.12 6.98 8.49 6.92 7.76 7.08 8.60 8.17 47 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.002 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.003 0.005 0.004 55 0.003 0.005 0.007 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.003 0.004 59 0.004 0.008 0.012 0.007 0.006 0.007 0.009 0.009 0.008 0.008 31 5.01 5.00 4.82 5.02 4.31 4.29 5.37 4.25 5.87 5.53 32 1.98 1.94 1.90 1.59 1.81 1.58 1.76 1.99 1.89 2.20 33 0.86 2.19 2.83 1.69 1.76 1.96 2.27 2.04 1.09 1.88 34 1.65 3.87 5.14 2.58 3.18 3.08 3.95 4.00 2.02 3.97 35 2.51 6.06 7.96 4.28 4.94 5.04 6.22 6.04 3.11 5.85 50 0.002 0.005 0.006 0.004 0.004 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.003 0.003 58 0.004 0.008 0.010 0.005 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.010 0.006 0.007 62 0.006 0.013 0.016 0.009 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.014 0.009 0.011 Table 64: Provided are the measured parameters under 100 mM NaCl and low temperature (8-10° C.) conditions of Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) according to the Correlation ID numbers (described in Table 63 above).

TABLE 65 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in roots and the phenotypic performance under normal or abiotic stress conditions across Sorghum accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP102 0.79 1.10E−02 6 52 LGP52 0.76 4.65E−02 3 15 LGP52 0.71 7.55E−02 3 45 LGP52 0.72 7.05E−02 3 38 LGP52 0.74 2.14E−02 5 7 LGP52 0.84 4.64E−03 5 48 LGP52 0.80 9.65E−03 5 2 LGP52 0.77 1.54E−02 5 56 LGP52 0.83 6.12E−03 5 60 LGP52 0.79 1.17E−02 5 14 LGP52 0.87 2.45E−03 6 49 LGP52 0.78 1.38E−02 6 27 LGP52 0.87 2.26E−03 6 3 LGP52 0.76 1.64E−02 6 25 LGP52 0.87 2.38E−03 6 5 LGP52 0.87 2.26E−03 6 23 LGP52 0.87 2.58E−03 6 61 LGP52 0.87 2.38E−03 6 24 LGP52 0.71 3.05E−02 6 26 LGP52 0.88 1.76E−03 6 21 LGP52 0.85 3.96E−03 6 57 Table 65. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologues in various tissues [Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Correlation vector)] under abiotic stress conditions (salinity) or normal conditions across Sorghum accessions. Corr.—Correlation vector as described hereinabove (Table 63). P = p value.

Example 9 Production of Sorghum Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis Using 60K Sorghum Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a sorghum oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60,000 sorghum genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 10 different sorghum hybrids were analyzed. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Correlation of Sorghum varieties across ecotypes grown in growth chambers under temperature of 30° C. or 14° C. at low light (100 μE) or high light (250 μE) conditions.

Analyzed Sorghum tissues—All 10 selected Sorghum hybrids were sampled per each condition. Leaf tissue growing under 30° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹), 14° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹), 30° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹), 14° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹) were sampled at vegetative stage of four-five leaves and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 66 below.

TABLE 66 Sorghum transcriptome expression sets in field experiments Description Expression set Sorghum/leaf, under 14 Celsius 1 degrees and high light (light on) Sorghum/leaf, under 14 Celsius 2 degrees and low light (light on) Sorghum/leaf, under 30 Celsius 3 degrees and high light (light on) Sorghum/leaf, under 30 Celsius 4 degrees and low light (light on) Table 66: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets.

The following parameters were collected by sampling 8-10 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot (Table 67 below).

Relative Growth Rate of vegetative dry weight was performed using Formula VII.

Leaves number—Plants were characterized for leaf number during growing period. In each measure, plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of selected plants per plot.

Shoot FW—shoot fresh weight (FW) per plant, measurement of all vegetative tissue above ground.

Shoot DW—shoot dry weight (DW) per plant, measurement of all vegetative tissue above ground after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours.

The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated and values are summarized in Tables 68-71 below. Subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Tables 72-75). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 67 Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Leaves number 1 RGR (relative growth rate) 2 Shoot DW (dry weight) (gr.) 3 Shoot FW (fresh weight) (gr.) 4 Table 67. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors).

TABLE 68 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 14° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹) Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 3.00 3.00 2.75 2.75 2.63 3.00 3.50 2.75 2.43 2.00 2 0.032 −0.014 −0.022 0.024 −0.037 −0.045 0.083 NA −0.050 −0.073 3 0.041 0.013 0.013 0.009 0.011 0.011 0.031 0.009 0.009 0.009 4 0.55 0.30 0.33 0.28 0.36 0.36 0.58 0.22 0.18 0.30 Table 68: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 14° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹).

TABLE 69 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 30° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹) Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 5.27 5.00 4.75 4.00 4.00 4.00 5.25 4.50 3.75 4.00 2 0.099 0.098 0.090 0.122 0.108 0.084 0.113 0.121 0.042 0.039 3 0.114 0.079 0.071 0.056 0.093 0.077 0.040 0.055 0.036 0.050 4 1.35 1.05 0.88 0.95 1.29 1.13 0.71 0.79 0.67 0.82 Table 69: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 30° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹).

TABLE 70 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 30° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹) Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 4.00 3.70 3.50 3.33 4.00 4.00 3.60 3.40 3.30 3.40 2 0.098 0.096 0.087 0.070 0.094 0.118 0.097 0.099 0.106 0.121 3 0.076 0.050 0.047 0.036 0.065 0.085 0.049 0.042 0.042 0.062 4 0.77 0.52 0.49 0.38 0.71 0.86 0.49 0.45 0.44 0.67 Table 70: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 30° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹).

TABLE 71 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 14° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹) Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 0.053 0.052 0.034 0.040 0.056 0.061 0.049 0.056 0.068 0.063 3 0.037 0.026 0.021 0.023 0.037 0.036 0.022 0.022 0.023 0.027 4 0.37 0.25 0.22 0.25 0.43 0.37 0.24 0.23 0.24 0.27 Table 71: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 14° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻² sec⁻¹).

TABLE 72 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance Gene Name R P value Exp. set Corr. Set ID LGP52 0.75 8.85E−02 3 3 Table 72. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] P = p value.

Example 10 Production of Sorghum Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with Yield and Drought Related Parameters Measured in Fields Using 65K Sorghum Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a sorghum oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 65,000 sorghum genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with ABST, drought and yield components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 12 different sorghum hybrids were analyzed. Among them, 8 hybrids encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

12 Sorghum varieties were grown in 6 repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows:

1. Regular growth conditions: sorghum plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols, which include 452 m³ water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period and fertilization of 14 units nitrogen per dunam per entire growth period (normal conditions). The nitrogen can be obtained using URAN® 21% (Nitrogen Fertilizer Solution; PCS Sales, Northbrook, Ill., USA).

2. Drought conditions: sorghum seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal condition until flowering stage (59 days from sowing), drought treatment was imposed by irrigating plants with 50% water relative to the normal treatment from this stage [309 m³ water per dunam (1000 square meters) per the entire growth period)], with normal fertilization (i.e., 14 units nitrogen per dunam).

Analyzed Sorghum tissues—All 12 selected Sorghum hybrids were sampled per each treatment. Tissues [Flag leaf, upper stem, lower stem, flower, grain] representing different plant characteristics, from plants growing under normal conditions and drought stress conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 73 below.

TABLE 73 Sorghum transcriptome expression sets in field experiment Expression Set Set ID Sorghum/flag leaf/Drought/flowering 1 Sorghum/flag leaf/Drought/grain filling 2 Table 73: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets. Flag leaf = the leaf below the flower.

Sorghum Yield Components and Vigor Related Parameters Assessment

Plants were phenotyped using the parameters listed in Tables 74-75 below. The following parameters were collected using digital imaging system:

Average Grain Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Average Grain Length (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Average Grain Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Average Grain Perimeter (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain perimeter was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain circularity—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The circularity of the grains was calculated based on Formula XIX above.

Head Average Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 8 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

Head Average Length (cm)—At the end of the growing period 8 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ length (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

Head Average Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 8 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

An image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37,

Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 8 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Head dry weight at grain filling (gr.)—5 heads per plot were collected at the grain filling stage (R2-R3) and weighted after oven dry (dry weight).

Head dry weights at harvest (gr.)—At the end of the growing period heads were collected (harvest stage), either from 8 plants per plot or from the rest of the plants in the plot. Heads were weighted after oven dry (dry weight), and average head weight per plant or per plot were calculated.

Total Seed Yield (gr.)—At the end of the growing period heads were collected (harvest stage). 8 heads were separately threshed and grains were weighted. The average grain weight per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

1000 Seeds weight [gr]—weight of 1000 seeds per plot.

Grain number (num.)—was calculated by dividing seed yield by 1000 seed weight.

Plant Height (cm.)—Plants were characterized for height during growing period at 6 time points (including at harvest). In each measure, plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest leaf.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at early grain filling (SPAD_earlyGF) and late grain filling (SPAD_lateGF). SPAD meter readings were done on fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plant.

Vegetative fresh and dry weight per plant (gr.)—At the end of the growing period all vegetative material (excluding roots) from plots were collected and weighted before (fresh weight) and after (dry weight) oven dry. The biomass per plant was calculated by dividing total biomass by the number of plants.

Relative water content (RWC, %)—at grain filling stage, leaves were collected from 5 plants per plot. Measurements of relative water content was done as follows: fresh weight (FW) was recorded immediately after leaf sampling; then leaves were soaked for 8 hours in distilled water at room temperature in the dark, and the turgid weight (TW) was recorded. Total dry weight (DW) was recorded after drying the leaves at 60° C. to a constant weight. Relative water content (RWC) was calculated according to Formula I (above).

Specific Leaf Area (SLA)—at grain filling stage, leaves were collected from 5 plants per plot. Leaves were scanned to obtain leaf area per plant, and then leaves were dried in an oven to obtain the leaves dry weight per plant. Specific leaf area was calculated by the leaf area divided by leaf dry weight.

Stomatal conductance (F) (GF) (mmol m-2 s-1)—plants were evaluated for their stomata conductance using SC-1 Leaf Porometer (Decagon devices) at flowering (F) and at grain filling (GF) stages. Stomata conductance readings were done on fully developed leaf, for 2 leaves and 2 plants per plot.

Upper internode length (cm), width (cm) and volume (cm³)—Upper internodes from at least 5 plants per plot were separated from the plant at flowering (F) and at harvest (H). Internodes were measured for their length (1) and width (d) using a ruler and a caliber. The internode volume was calculated using Formula XX.

Upper internode fresh and dry density (F) and (H) (gr/cm³)—These parameters were measured at two time points during the course of the experiment: at flowering (F) and at harvest (H). Upper internodes from at least 5 plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted (fresh and dry weight). To obtain stem density, stem weight (either fresh or dry) was divided by the stem volume (see above).

Lower internode length (cm), width (cm) and volume (cm³)—Lower internodes from at least 5 plants per plot were separated from the plant at flowering (F) and at harvest (H). Internodes were measured for their length (1) and width (d) using a ruler and a caliber. The internode volume was calculated using Formula XX above.

Lower internode fresh and dry density (F) and (H) (gr/cm³)—These parameters were measured at two time points during the course of the experiment: at flowering (F) and at harvest (H). Lower internodes from at least 5 plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted (fresh and dry weight). To obtain stem density, stem weight (either fresh or dry) was divided by the stem volume (see above).

Number of days to heading—Calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot arrives heading.

Number of days to maturity—Calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot arrives seed maturation.

Maintenance of performance under drought conditions—Represent ratio for the specified parameter of Drought condition results divided by Normal conditions results (maintenance of phenotype under drought in comparison to normal conditions).

Data parameters collected are summarized in Tables 74-75, herein below.

TABLE 74 Sorghum correlated parameters under drought conditions (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID % Canopy coverage (GF) under drought (%) 1 1000 grain weight under drought (gr) 2 Grain Circularity under drought (cm) 3 Grain Perimeter under drought (cm) 4 Grain area under drought (cm²) 5 Grain length under drought (cm) 6 Grain width under drought (cm) 7 Grains number under drought (number) 8 Grains weight per plant under drought (gr) 9 Head DW (GF) under drought (gr) 10 Heads weight per plant under drought (gr) 11 Lower Stem dry density (H) under drought (cm³) 12 Lower Stem fresh density (F) under drought (cm³) 13 Lower Stem width (F) under drought (cm) 14 Main Head Area under drought (cm²) 15 Main Head Width under drought (cm) 16 Main Head length under drought (cm) 17 Num Days to heading (field) under drought (days) 18 Num days to maturity under drought (days) 19 Plant height under drought (cm) 20 RWC_2 under drought (%) 21 SPAD_earlyGF under drought 22 SPAD _lateGF under drought 23 Specific leaf area (GF) under drought (cm²/gr) 24 Stomatal conductance (F) under drought (mmol m-2 s-1) 25 Stomatal conductance (GF) under drought 26 (mmol m-2 s-1) Upper internode dry density (H) under drought (gr/cm³) 27 Upper internode fresh density (H) under drought (gr/cm³) 28 Upper internode length (H) under drought (cm) 29 Upper internode volume (H) under drought (cm³⁾ 30 Upper internode width (H) under drought (cm) 31 Vegetative DW per plant under drought (gr) 32 Vegetative FW per plant under drought (gr) 33 Table 74. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors). “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “DW” = Plant Dry weight; “GF” = grain filling growth stage; “F” = flowering stage; “H” = harvest stage.

TABLE 75 Sorghum correlated parameters for maintenance under drought conditions (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID 1000 grains weight D/N 1 Grain Perimeter D/N 2 Grain area D/N 3 Grain length D/N 4 Grain width D/N 5 Grains num (SP) D/N 6 Grains weight per plant D/N 7 Head DW (GF) D/N 8 Heads weight per plant 9 (RP) D/N Lower Stem width (F) D/N 10 Lower stem dry density 11 (H) D/N Lower stem fresh density 12 (F) D/N Main Head Area D/N 13 Main Head Width D/N 14 Main Head length D/N 15 Plant height D/N 16 RWC_2 D/N 17 SPAD_2 D/N 18 SPAD_3 D/N 19 Specific leaf area (GF) D/N 20 Stomatal conductance (F) D/N 21 Stomatal conductance 22 (GF) D/N Upper Stem length (h) D/N 23 Upper Stem width (h) D/N 24 Upper stem dry density 25 (H) D/N Upper stem fresh density 26 (H) D/N Upper stem volume (H) D/N 27 Vegetative DW per plant D/N 28 Vegetative FW per plant D/N 29 Table 75. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors). “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “DW” = Plant Dry weight; “Maintenance under drought” = calculated % of change under drought vs normal growth conditions. “GF” = grain filling growth stage; “F” = flowering stage; “H” = harvest stage.

Experimental Results

22 different sorghum hybrids were grown and characterized for different parameters (Tables 74-75). The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 76-77) and a subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Tables 78-79). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 76 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under drought conditions Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 70.80 64.11 75.68 87.17 77.78 80.38 64.25 61.34 2 13.30 17.88 20.24 17.95 14.64 20.83 15.43 19.80 3 0.88 0.90 0.90 0.89 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.87 4 1.20 1.22 1.28 1.30 1.27 1.36 1.24 1.28 5 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.13 0.11 0.11 6 0.39 0.40 0.41 0.42 0.42 0.45 0.40 0.41 7 0.33 0.34 0.36 0.36 0.34 0.37 0.34 0.35 8 17494.21 14526.20 15728.96 13808.50 9838.55 12402.52 9979.86 5451.71 9 29.22 31.74 40.21 29.52 18.23 34.43 19.10 13.67 10 19.29 33.15 27.31 50.38 37.04 11.72 9.32 12.10 11 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 12 1.71 1.66 1.64 1.60 2.49 1.25 2.38 1.60 13 10.36 11.28 10.70 9.68 10.79 9.66 10.87 10.46 14 14.90 13.32 14.53 17.27 18.35 13.96 17.19 16.63 15 114.58 94.24 104.21 87.37 55.31 85.87 68.68 96.62 16 5.02 5.57 5.70 4.77 3.72 5.81 4.62 5.53 17 31.12 22.16 24.36 24.76 19.93 19.41 19.90 24.79 18 63.00 56.00 59.67 76.67 74.67 71.00 68.33 66.33 19 92.00 92.00 92.00 107.00 107.00 107.00 92.00 92.00 20 80.92 93.43 104.15 105.63 69.04 133.54 47.82 83.24 21 66.87 68.62 68.25 76.33 54.86 74.51 71.70 78.51 22 44.66 51.92 48.84 37.60 38.19 43.35 47.58 46.97 23 30.93 43.69 37.80 32.49 34.14 25.84 42.92 26.98 24 132.90 138.52 133.26 47.34 44.43 106.06 128. 67 143.32 25 582.07 985.59 834.96 54.16 68.26 330.46 387.65 774.84 26 129.78 241.65 322.92 127.17 276.22 217.19 81.21 561.18 27 1.65 1.62 1.63 1.76 1.92 1.66 1.55 1.43 28 5.18 5.39 5.40 5.53 8.60 3.60 4.61 5.72 29 48.60 48.78 48.73 26.05 31.06 20.72 24.07 39.57 30 2865.28 2857.93 2955.99 1288.48 1128.61 1724.93 1507.76 2524.28 31 8.60 8.59 8.73 7.85 6.63 10.20 8.88 8.92 32 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.04 33 0.09 0.10 0.11 0.19 0.15 0.11 0.08 0.10 Table 76: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Line) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 77 Calculated parameters in Sorghum accessions under drought conditions (maintenance of performance under drought vs normal growth conditions) Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 0.72 0.76 0.78 0.88 0.79 0.77 0.84 0.87 2 0.92 0.93 0.95 0.99 0.96 0.94 0.97 0.98 3 0.85 0.87 0.90 0.97 0.91 0.88 0.94 0.96 4 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.99 0.97 0.93 0.97 0.98 5 0.91 0.93 0.95 0.97 0.94 0.94 0.97 0.98 6 0.81 1.11 0.93 0.56 0.65 0.71 0.72 0.87 7 0.59 0.81 0.73 0.46 0.55 0.57 0.60 0.76 8 0.70 1.05 1.06 0.68 0.90 0.77 0.91 0.94 9 0.57 0.64 0.70 0.42 0.43 0.36 0.46 0.52 10 0.80 0.98 0.97 1.05 1.02 0.87 0.97 0.99 11 0.69 0.65 0.66 0.97 0.99 0.70 0.81 0.79 12 0.96 1.04 0.99 0.92 0.99 0.96 1.02 0.98 13 0.82 0.95 0.91 0.59 0.69 0.77 0.80 1.20 14 0.79 0.94 0.91 0.75 0.82 0.81 0.85 1.11 15 1.01 0.98 0.99 0.81 0.84 0.94 0.93 1.15 16 0.85 0.92 0.92 0.64 0.70 0.79 0.87 0.80 17 0.74 0.76 0.77 0.93 0.63 0.82 0.81 0.86 18 0.83 0.99 0.91 0.85 0.78 0.92 0.91 0.95 19 0.74 0.93 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.77 0.86 0.76 20 0.62 0.65 0.62 0.70 0.58 0.65 0.66 0.84 21 0.73 1.12 1.03 0.09 0.11 0.60 0.82 0.76 22 0.15 0.33 0.36 0.33 0.57 0.34 0.17 0.69 23 0.81 0.94 0.89 0.54 0.59 0.61 0.84 0.88 24 1.00 1.01 0.95 0.84 0.86 1.01 1.05 1.20 25 0.95 0.91 0.98 1.05 1.05 0.89 0.88 0.81 26 0.71 0.68 0.77 1.15 1.04 0.78 0.64 0.64 27 0.82 0.98 0.81 0.39 0.46 0.62 0.94 1.16 28 0.74 0.71 0.69 0.77 0.82 0.77 0.85 0.78 29 0.60 0.69 0.59 0.80 0.68 0.73 0.66 0.69 Table 77: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in sorghum accessions (line) for maintenance of performance under drought (calculated as % of change under drought vs normal growth conditions). Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 78 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under drought stress conditions across Sorghum accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP102 0.97 4.03E−04 1 21 LGP102 0.74 5.51E−02 1 20 LGP102 0.76 4.88E−02 1 6 LGP102 0.78 4.05E−02 1 5 LGP102 0.82 2.50E−02 1 4 LGP102 0.73 6.51E−02 1 19 LGP102 0.76 4.66E−02 1 7 LGP102 0.78 3.91E−02 2 14 LGP102 0.78 3.72E−02 2 32 LGP102 0.94 1.59E−03 2 18 LGP52 0.85 1.54E−02 1 3 LGP52 0.76 4.58E−02 1 23 LGP52 0.85 1.65E−02 2 3 LGP52 0.71 7.40E−02 2 12 LGP52 0.79 3.46E−02 2 9 LGP52 0.80 3.18E−02 2 23 Table 78. Correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters Table above. “Exp. Set”—Expression set. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

TABLE 79 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance of maintenance of performance under drought across Sorghum accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP102 0.71 7.45E−02 1 1 LGP102 0.81 2.78E−02 1 22 LGP102 0.87 1.12E−02 1 20 LGP102 0.73 6.26E−02 1 17 LGP102 0.75 5.39E−02 1 5 LGP102 0.73 6.30E−02 2 1 LGP102 0.72 6.70E−02 2 28 LGP102 0.75 5.30E−02 2 2 LGP102 0.71 7.28E−02 2 3 LGP102 0.88 9.67E−03 2 11 LGP102 0.79 3.27E−02 2 17 LGP52 0.72 6.64E−02 1 16 Table 79. Correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters Table above. “Exp. Set”—Expression set. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

Example 11 Production of Maize Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis Using 60K Maize Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

To produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Maize oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60K Maize genes and transcripts designed based on data from Public databases (Example 1). To define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield, biomass components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 12 different Maize hybrids were analyzed. Among them, 10 hybrids encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

All 10 selected maize hybrids were sampled in three time points (TP2=V2-V3 (when two to three collar leaf are visible, rapid growth phase and kernel row determination begins), TP5=R1-R2 (silking-blister), TP6=R3-R4 (milk-dough). Four types of plant tissues [Ear, flag leaf indicated in Table as leaf, grain distal part, and internode] were sampled and RNA was extracted as described in “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 80 below.

TABLE 80 Tissues used for Maize transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Ear under normal conditions 1 at reproductive stage: R1-R2 Ear under normal conditions 2 at reproductive stage: R3-R4 Internode under normal conditions 3 at vegetative stage: Vegetative V2-3 Internode under normal conditions 4 at reproductive stage: R1-R2 Internode under normal conditions 5 at reproductive stage: R3-R4 Leaf under normal conditions at 6 vegetative stage: Vegetative V2-3 Leaf under normal conditions at 7 reproductive stage: R1-R2 Grain distal under normal conditions 8 at reproductive stage: R1-R2 Table 80: Provided are the identification (ID) number of each of the Maize expression sets

The following parameters were collected:

Grain Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Length and Grain width (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths/or width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Ear Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of Ears.

Ear Length and Ear Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear length and width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ears.

Filled per Whole Ear—it was calculated as the length of the ear with grains out of the total ear.

Percent Filled Ear—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The percent filled Ear grain was the ear with grains out of the total ear and was measured from those images and was divided by the number of Ears.

The image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 6 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Normalized Grain Weight per plant (gr.), measurement of yield parameter—At the end of the experiment all ears from plots within blocks A-C were collected. Six ears were separately threshed and grains were weighted, all additional ears were threshed together and weighted as well. The grain weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%. The normalized average grain weight per ear was calculated by dividing the total normalized grain weight by the total number of ears per plot (based on plot). In case of 6 ears, the total grains weight of 6 ears was divided by 6.

Ear fresh weight (FW) (gr.)—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots within blocks A-C were collected separately. The plants' ears (total and 6) were weighted (gr.) separately and the average ear per plant was calculated for total (Ear FW per plot) and for 6 (Ear FW per plant).

Plant height and Ear height—Plants were characterized for height at harvesting. In each measure, 6 plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the plant below the tassel. Ear height was measured from the ground level to the place were the main ear is located

Leaf number per plant—Plants were characterized for leaf number during growing period at 5 time points. In each measure, plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of 3 selected plants per plot.

Relative Growth Rate was calculated using regression coefficient of leaf number change a long time course.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 64 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot. Data were taken after 46 and 54 days after sowing (DPS).

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours.

Dry weight per plant—At the end of the experiment when all vegetative material from plots within blocks A-C were collected, weight and divided by the number of plants.

Ear diameter [cm]—The diameter of the ear at the mid of the ear was measured using a ruler.

Cob diameter [cm]—The diameter of the cob without grains was measured using a ruler.

Kernel Row Number per Ear—The number of rows in each ear was counted. The average of 6 ears per plot was calculated.

Leaf area index [LAI]=total leaf area of all plants in a plot. Measurement was performed using a Leaf area-meter.

Yield/LAI [kg]—is the Ratio Between Total Grain Yields and Total Leaf Area Index.

TABLE 81 Maize correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Cob Diameter (mm) 1 DW per Plant based on 6 (gr.) 2 Ear Area (cm²) 3 Ear FW per Plant based on 6 (gr.) 4 Ear Height (cm) 5 Ear Length (cm) 6 Ear Width (cm) 7 Ears FW per plant based on all (gr.) 8 Filled per Whole Ear 9 Grain Area (cm²) 10 Grain Length (cm) 11 Grain Width (cm) 12 Growth Rate Leaf Number 13 Kernel Row Number per Ear 14 Leaf Number per Plant 15 Normalized Grain Weight per Plant based on all (gr.) 16 Normalized Grain Weight per plant based on 6 (gr.) 17 Percent Filled Ear 18 Plant Height per Plot (cm) 19 SPAD R1 20 SPAD R2 21 Table 81.

Experimental Results

Twelve maize varieties were grown and characterized for parameters, as described above. The average for each parameter was calculated using the JMP software, and values are summarized in Tables 82-83 below. Subsequent correlation between the various transcriptome sets for all or sub sets of lines was done by the bioinformatic unit and results were integrated into the database (Table 84 below).

TABLE 82 Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid Ecotype/Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 28.96 25.08 28.05 25.73 28.72 25.78 2 657.50 491.67 641.11 580.56 655.56 569.44 3 85.06 85.84 90.51 95.95 91.62 72.41 4 245.83 208.33 262.22 263.89 272.22 177.78 5 135.17 122.33 131.97 114.00 135.28 94.28 6 19.69 19.05 20.52 21.34 20.92 18.23 7 5.58 5.15 5.67 5.53 5.73 5.23 8 278.19 217.50 288.28 247.88 280.11 175.84 9 0.916 0.922 0.927 0.917 0.908 0.950 10 0.75 0.71 0.75 0.77 0.81 0.71 11 1.17 1.09 1.18 1.20 1.23 1.12 12 0.81 0.81 0.80 0.80 0.82 0.80 13 0.28 0.22 0.28 0.27 0.31 0.24 14 16.17 14.67 16.20 15.89 16.17 15.17 15 12.00 11.11 11.69 11.78 11.94 12.33 16 153.90 135.88 152.50 159.16 140.46 117.14 17 140.68 139.54 153.67 176.98 156.61 119.67 18 80.62 86.76 82.14 92.71 80.38 82.76 19 278.08 260.50 275.13 238.50 286.94 224.83 20 51.67 56.41 53.55 55.21 55.30 59.35 21 54.28 57.18 56.01 59.68 54.77 59.14

TABLE 83 Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid additional parameters Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12  1 26.43 25.19 26.67  2 511.11 544.44 574.17 522.22  3 74.03 76.53 55.20 95.36  4 188.89 197.22 141.11 261.11  5 120.94 107.72 60.44 112.50  6 19.02 18.57 16.69 21.70  7 5.22 5.33 4.12 5.58  8 192.47 204.70 142.72 264.24  9 0.87 0.94 0.80 0.96 10 0.71 0.75 0.50 0.76 11 1.14 1.13 0.92 1.18 12 0.79 0.84 0.67 0.81 13 0.24 0.27 0.19 0.30 14 16.00 14.83 14.27 15.39 15 12.44 12.22 9.28 12.56 16 123.24 131.27 40.84 170.66 17 119.69 133.51 54.32 173.23 18 73.25 81.06 81.06 91.60 19 264.44 251.61 163.78 278.44 20 58.48 55.88 52.98 53.86 59.75 49.99 21 57.99 60.36 54.77 51.39 61.14 53.34

TABLE 84 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across maize varieties Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP25 0.85 1.58E−02 1 2 LGP27 0.93 2.27E−03 4 14 LGP25 0.71 1.17E−01 4 1 LGP25 0.94 4.53E−03 1 1 LGP27 0.72 6.78E−02 1 5 LGP27 0.79 6.16E−02 2 12 LGP27 0.74 5.74E−02 4 11 LGP27 0.73 6.00E−02 4 5 LGP27 0.75 5.15E−02 4 7 LGP27 0.75 5.32E−02 4 8 LGP27 0.73 6.45E−02 4 4 LGP27 0.72 6.91E−02 1 19 LGP72 0.75 8.34E−02 2 15 LGP72 0.74 9.47E−02 2 12 LGP72 0.76 4.63E−02 4 3 LGP72 0.75 5.29E−02 4 16 LGP72 0.89 6.57E−03 4 14 LGP72 0.75 5.04E−02 4 15 LGP72 0.84 1.70E−02 4 13 LGP72 0.76 4.74E−02 4 11 LGP72 0.85 1.63E−02 4 6 LGP72 0.73 6.09E−02 4 9 LGP72 0.78 3.83E−02 4 7 LGP72 0.87 1.03E−02 4 8 LGP72 0.86 1.33E−02 4 4 LGP72 0.74 5.92E−02 4 17 LGP72 0.75 5.21E−02 7 3 LGP72 0.71 7.50E−02 7 14 LGP72 0.74 5.95E−02 7 5 LGP72 0.73 6.43E−02 7 17 LGP73 0.77 7.45E−02 1 1 LGP73 0.86 2.66E−03 3 18 LGP73 0.88 2.06E−02 4 1 LGP73 0.75 5.43E−02 4 2 LGP74 0.82 1.27E−02 5 12 LGP74 0.78 3.70E−02 4 2 LGP75 0.90 5.34E−03 1 16 LGP75 0.76 4.78E−02 1 14 LGP75 0.85 1.52E−02 1 15 LGP75 0.81 2.76E−02 1 13 LGP75 0.89 6.95E−03 1 11 LGP75 0.80 3.10E−02 1 6 LGP75 0.89 6.96E−03 1 9 LGP75 0.87 1.02E−02 1 10 LGP75 0.87 1.19E−02 1 19 LGP75 0.81 2.86E−02 1 5 LGP75 0.92 3.16E−03 1 7 LGP75 0.79 3.34E−02 1 8 LGP75 0.78 3.95E−02 1 12 LGP75 0.79 3.37E−02 1 4 LGP75 0.86 1.32E−02 1 17 LGP75 0.77 2.58E−02 8 12 LGP75 0.72 1.03E−01 2 18 LGP80 0.76 2.82E−02 5 14 LGP75 0.74 2.16E−02 3 16 LGP75 0.71 3.26E−02 3 17 LGP75 0.87 1.07E−02 4 2 LGP75 0.83 1.94E−02 1 3 LGP75 0.80 1.81E−02 5 3 LGP75 0.93 6.85E−03 4 1 LGP75 0.82 3.48E−03 6 3 LGP75 0.78 7.94E−03 6 16 LGP75 0.82 3.49E−03 6 14 LGP75 0.79 6.20E−03 6 11 LGP75 0.81 4.64E−03 6 6 LGP75 0.71 2.18E−02 6 10 LGP75 0.73 1.61E−02 6 5 LGP75 0.80 5.68E−03 6 7 LGP75 0.84 2.14E−03 6 8 LGP75 0.87 1.07E−03 6 4 LGP75 0.80 5.74E−03 6 17 LGP75 0.74 2.14E−02 3 3 LGP80 0.83 4.31E−02 4 1 LGP82 0.86 2.69E−02 1 1 LGP82 0.71 7.33E−02 1 8 LGP82 0.81 8.59E−03 3 5 LGP82 0.72 2.97E−02 3 8 LGP82 0.86 2.88E−02 2 12 LGP86 0.72 6.82E−02 1 3 LGP86 0.79 3.40E−02 1 16 LGP86 0.90 6.16E−03 1 14 LGP86 0.73 5.99E−02 1 15 LGP86 0.77 4.11E−02 1 13 LGP86 0.89 7.89E−03 1 11 LGP86 0.74 5.87E−02 1 9 LGP86 0.86 1.39E−02 1 10 LGP86 0.76 4.97E−02 1 19 LGP86 0.82 2.24E−02 1 5 LGP86 0.91 4.28E−03 1 7 LGP86 0.80 3.22E−02 1 8 LGP86 0.74 5.82E−02 1 12 LGP86 0.76 4.68E−02 1 4 LGP86 0.76 4.60E−02 1 17 LGP86 0.76 2.76E−02 8 18 LGP86 0.72 2.88E−02 3 16 LGP86 0.72 2.81E−02 3 19 LGP86 0.81 7.92E−03 3 5 LGP86 0.76 1.86E−02 3 7 LGP86 0.78 1.32E−02 3 8 LGP87 0.71 2.19E−02 6 20 LGP86 0.87 1.17E−02 4 16 LGP86 0.90 6.32E−03 4 14 LGP86 0.71 7.43E−02 4 13 LGP86 0.86 1.33E−02 4 11 LGP86 0.84 1.74E−02 4 6 LGP86 0.80 2.90E−02 4 10 LGP86 0.82 2.41E−02 4 19 LGP86 0.92 3.17E−03 4 5 LGP86 0.88 8.16E−03 4 7 LGP86 0.94 1.93E−03 4 8 LGP86 0.92 3.57E−03 4 4 LGP86 0.86 1.20E−02 4 17 LGP86 0.72 4.27E−02 5 9 LGP86 0.90 5.39E−03 4 3 LGP86 0.98 1.25E−04 7 3 LGP86 0.90 5.89E−03 7 16 LGP86 0.82 2.51E−02 7 11 LGP86 0.92 3.20E−03 7 6 LGP86 0.77 4.11E−02 7 10 LGP86 0.78 3.66E−02 7 18 LGP86 0.79 3.42E−02 7 19 LGP86 0.85 1.47E−02 7 5 LGP86 0.81 2.89E−02 7 7 LGP86 0.87 1.03E−02 7 8 LGP86 0.93 2.46E−03 7 4 LGP86 0.93 2.24E−03 7 17 LGP88 0.79 6.15E−02 2 6 LGP89 0.77 4.11E−02 4 14 LGP88 0.77 7.40E−02 4 1 LGP88 0.77 7.59E−02 1 1 LGP89 0.75 5.29E−02 1 2 LGP89 0.71 2.07E−02 6 3 LGP89 0.73 1.02E−01 2 12 LGP90 0.86 2.80E−02 7 1 LGP89 0.77 4.31E−02 4 6 LGP89 0.71 7.64E−02 4 18 LGP89 0.77 4.22E−02 4 4 LGP89 0.71 1.15E−01 1 1 LGP89 0.71 2.05E−02 6 6 LGP89 0.71 2.25E−02 6 7 LGP89 0.80 5.58E−03 6 8 LGP89 0.77 9.49E−03 6 4 LGP90 0.74 5.66E−02 1 3 LGP90 0.77 4.10E−02 1 16 LGP90 0.72 6.54E−02 1 9 LGP90 0.78 3.89E−02 1 10 LGP90 0.83 2.19E−02 1 19 LGP90 0.91 4.05E−03 1 5 LGP90 0.72 6.56E−02 1 7 LGP90 0.85 1.51E−02 1 12 LGP90 0.74 5.61E−02 1 17 LGP90 0.81 4.96E−02 2 14 LGP91 0.74 5.75E−02 1 3 LGP91 0.73 1.62E−02 6 20 LGP91 0.72 1.05E−01 2 2 LGP92 0.77 4.39E−02 4 2 LGP91 0.74 3.59E−02 5 18 LGP91 0.81 2.77E−02 7 3 LGP91 0.74 5.89E−02 7 16 LGP91 0.73 6.14E−02 7 19 LGP91 0.83 2.14E−02 7 5 LGP91 0.76 4.71E−02 7 17 LGP92 0.92 8.68E−03 2 14 LGP92 0.73 1.01E−01 2 5 LGP92 0.82 1.34E−02 8 1 LGP92 0.83 1.07E−02 8 2 LGP94 0.84 3.67E−02 1 1 LGP94 0.71 1.12E−01 2 12 LGP94 0.80 3.14E−02 4 15 LGP94 0.82 2.34E−02 4 9 LGP94 0.74 5.96E−02 4 19 LGP94 0.80 3.05E−02 4 12 LGP95 0.74 1.48E−02 6 3 LGP95 0.71 2.05E−02 6 10 LGP95 0.75 1.24E−02 6 4 LGP95 0.71 2.02E−02 6 17 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal conditions across maize varieties. P = p value.

Example 12 Production of Maize Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with Yield, NUE, and ABST Related Parameters Measured in Semi-Hydroponics Conditions Using 60K Maize Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

Maize vigor related parameters under low nitrogen, 100 mM NaCl, low temperature (10±2° C.) and normal growth conditions—Twelve Maize hybrids were grown in 5 repetitive plots, each containing 7 plants, at a net house under semi-hydroponics conditions. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Maize seeds were sown in trays filled with a mix of vermiculite and peat in a 1:1 ratio. Following germination, the trays were transferred to the high salinity solution (100 mM NaCl in addition to the Full Hoagland solution), low temperature (“cold conditions” of 10±2° C. in the presence of Full Hoagland solution), low nitrogen solution (the amount of total nitrogen was reduced in 90% from the full Hoagland solution (i.e., to a final concentration of 10% from full Hoagland solution, final amount of 1.6 mM N) or at

Normal growth solution (Full Hoagland containing 16 mM N solution, at 28±2° C.). Plants were grown at 28±2° C.

Full Hoagland solution consists of: KNO₃—0.808 grams/liter, MgSO₄—0.12 grams/liter, KH₂PO₄—0.136 grams/liter and 0.01% (volume/volume) of ‘Super coratin’ micro elements (Iron-EDDHA [ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)]—40.5 grams/liter; Mn—20.2 grams/liter; Zn 10.1 grams/liter; Co 1.5 grams/liter; and Mo 1.1 grams/liter), solution's pH should be 6.5-6.8].

Analyzed Maize tissues—Twelve selected Maize hybrids were sampled per each treatment. Two tissues [leaves and root tip] growing at 100 mM NaCl, low temperature (10±2° C.), low Nitrogen (1.6 mM N) or under Normal conditions were sampled at the vegetative stage (V4-5) and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 85-88 below.

TABLE 85 Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi hydroponics conditions Expression set Set ID leaf at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under 1 Normal conditions root tip at vegetative stage 2 (V4-V5) under Normal conditions Table 85: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at normal conditions.

TABLE 86 Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi hydroponics conditions Expression set Set ID leaf at vegetative stage 1 (V4-V5) under cold conditions root tip at vegetative stage 2 (V4-V5) under cold conditions Table 86: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at cold conditions.

TABLE 87 Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi hydroponics conditions Expression set Set ID leaf at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under 1 low N conditions (1.6 mM N) root tip at vegetative stage (V4-V5) 2 under low N conditions (1.6 mM N) Table 87: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at low nitrogen conditions 1.6 Mm Nitrogen.

TABLE 88 Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi hydroponics conditions Expression set Set ID leaf at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under 1 salinity conditions (NaCl 100 mM) root tip at vegetative stage (V4-V5) 2 under salinity conditions (NaCl 100 mM) Table 88: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at 100 mM NaCl.

The following parameters were collected:

Leaves DW—leaves dry weight per plant (average of five plants).

Plant Height growth—was calculated as regression coefficient of plant height [cm] along time course (average of five plants).

Root DW—root dry weight per plant, all vegetative tissue above ground (average of four plants).

Root length—the length of the root was measured at V4 developmental stage.

Shoot DW—shoot dry weight per plant, all vegetative tissue above ground (average of four plants) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours.

Shoot FW—shoot fresh weight per plant, all vegetative tissue above ground (average of four plants).

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 30 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Experimental Results

12 different Maize hybrids were grown and characterized at the vegetative stage (V4-5) for different parameters. The correlated parameters are described in Table 89 below. The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 90-97 below. Subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Table 98-101). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 89 Maize correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Leaves DW [gr] 1 Plant height growth [cm/day] 2 Root DW [gr] 3 Root length [cm] 4 SPAD 5 Shoot DW [gr] 6 Shoot FW [gr] 7 Table 89: Provided are the Maize correlated parameters.

TABLE 90 Maize accessions, measured parameters under low nitrogen growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 0.57 0.45 0.46 0.48 0.36 0.51 2 0.75 0.81 0.88 0.69 0.83 0.84 3 0.38 0.35 0.25 0.36 0.31 0.30 4 44.50 45.63 44.25 43.59 40.67 42.03 5 21.43 21.24 22.23 24.56 22.75 26.47 6 2.56 1.96 2.01 1.94 1.94 2.52 7 23.27 20.58 19.26 20.02 17.98 22.06 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under low nitrogen conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 91 Maize accessions, measured parameters under low nitrogen growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 1 0.53 0.58 0.55 0.51 0.56 0.39 2 0.78 0.92 0.89 0.85 0.80 0.64 3 0.29 0.31 0.29 0.32 0.43 0.17 4 42.65 45.06 45.31 42.17 41.03 37.65 5 22.08 25.09 23.73 25.68 25.02 19.51 6 2.03 2.37 2.09 2.17 2.62 1.53 7 21.28 22.13 20.29 19.94 22.50 15.93 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under low nitrogen conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 92 Maize accessions, measured parameters under 100 mM NaCl growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 0.41 0.50 0.43 0.48 0.43 0.56 2 0.46 0.40 0.45 0.32 0.32 0.31 3 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.07 0.05 0.03 4 10.88 11.28 11.82 10.08 8.46 10.56 5 36.55 39.92 37.82 41.33 40.82 44.40 6 2.43 2.19 2.25 2.26 1.54 1.94 7 19.58 20.78 18.45 19.35 15.65 16.09 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under 100 mM NaCl growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 93 Maize accessions, measured parameters under 100 mM NaCl growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 1 0.33 0.51 0.47 0.98 0.48 0.15 2 0.29 0.36 0.37 0.35 0.31 0.27 3 0.10 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.01 4 10.14 11.83 10.55 11.18 10.09 8.90 5 37.92 43.22 39.83 38.20 38.14 37.84 6 1.78 1.90 1.89 2.20 1.86 0.97 7 12.46 16.92 16.75 17.64 15.90 9.40 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under 100 mM NaCl growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 94 Maize accessions, measured parameters under cold growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 1.19 1.17 1.02 1.18 1.04 1.23 2 2.15 1.93 2.12 1.80 2.32 2.15 3 0.05 0.07 0.10 0.08 0.07 0.07 5 28.88 29.11 27.08 32.38 32.68 32.89 6 5.74 4.86 3.98 4.22 4.63 4.93 7 73.79 55.46 53.26 54.92 58.95 62.36 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under cold growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 95 Maize accessions, measured parameters under cold growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 1 1.13 0.98 0.88 1.28 1.10 0.60 2 2.49 2.01 1.95 2.03 1.85 1.21 3 0.14 0.07 0.07 0.02 0.05 0.06 5 31.58 33.01 28.65 31.43 30.64 30.71 6 4.82 4.03 3.57 3.99 4.64 1.89 7 63.65 54.90 48.25 52.83 55.08 29.61 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under cold growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 96 Maize accessions, measured parameters under regular growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 1.16 1.10 0.92 1.01 0.93 0.91 2 1.99 1.92 1.93 1.93 2.15 1.95 3 0.14 0.11 0.23 0.16 0.08 0.05 4 20.15 15.89 18.59 18.72 16.38 14.93 5 34.50 35.77 34.70 34.42 35.26 37.52 6 5.27 4.67 3.88 5.08 4.10 4.46 7 79.00 62.85 59.73 63.92 60.06 64.67 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under regular growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 97 Maize accessions, measured parameters under regular growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 1 1.11 1.01 1.01 1.02 1.23 0.44 2 2.23 1.94 1.97 2.05 1.74 1.26 3 0.17 0.10 0.07 0.10 0.14 0.03 4 17.48 15.74 15.71 17.58 16.13 17.43 5 36.50 36.07 33.74 34.34 35.74 29.04 6 4.68 4.59 4.08 4.61 5.42 2.02 7 68.10 65.81 58.31 61.87 70.04 35.96 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under regular growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 98 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across Maize accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP25 0.74 2.15E−02 2 7 LGP25 0.75 1.99E−02 2 6 LGP72 0.71 2.02E−02 1 3 LGP72 0.70 2.29E−02 1 6 LGP74 0.83 2.88E−03 1 4 LGP75 0.71 2.02E−02 1 7 LGP75 0.77 9.15E−03 1 2 LGP75 0.71 2.07E−02 1 1 LGP75 0.73 1.61E−02 1 4 LGP92 0.80 9.13E−03 2 7 LGP92 0.72 2.94E−02 2 6 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under normal conditions across Maize accessions. P = p value.

TABLE 99 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen conditions across Maize accessions Corr. Gene P Exp. Corr. Gene P Exp. Set Name R value set Set ID Name R value set ID LGP73 0.81 7.64E−03 2 2 LGP73 0.73 2.46E−02 2 1 LGP73 0.91 6.97E−04 2 4 LGP86 0.70 2.30E−02 1 4 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under low nitrogen conditions across Maize accessions. P = p value.

TABLE 100 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under cold conditions across Maize accessions Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP25 0.72 2.79E−02 2 7 LGP25 0.78 1.29E−02 2 1 LGP25 0.75 1.89E−02 2 6 LGP27 0.77 2.64E−02 1 3 LGP72 0.74 3.65E−02 1 3 LGP89 0.79 1.84E−02 1 3 LGP92 0.85 6.86E−03 1 5 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under cold conditions (10 ± 2° C.) across Maize accessions. P = p value.

TABLE 101 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under salinity conditions across Maize accessions Gene P Exp. Corr. Gene P Exp. Corr. Name R value set Set ID Name R value set Set ID LGP25 0.78 1.27E−02 2 5 LGP25 0.77 1.43E−02 2 1 LGP73 0.71 3.13E−02 2 2 LGP88 0.75 1.19E−02 1 5 LGP92 0.75 1.31E−02 1 5 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under salinity conditions (100 mM NaCl) across Maize accessions. P = p value.

Example 13 Production of Maize Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis when Grown Under Normal and Defoliation Conditions Using 60K Maize Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

To produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Maize oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60K Maize genes and transcripts designed based on data from Public databases (Example 1). To define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield, biomass components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 13 different Maize hybrids were analyzed under normal and defoliation conditions. Same hybrids were subjected to RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

13 maize hybrids lines were grown in 6 repetitive plots, in field. Maize seeds were planted and plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols. After silking 3 plots in every hybrid line underwent the defoliation treatment. In this treatment all the leaves above the ear (about 75% of the total leaves) were removed. After the treatment all the plants were grown according to the same commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols.

Three tissues at flowering developmental (R1) and grain filling (R3) stage including leaf (flowering—R1), stem (flowering—R1 and grain filling—R3), and flowering meristem (flowering—R1) representing different plant characteristics, were sampled from treated and untreated plants. RNA was extracted as described in “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Tables 102-104 below.

TABLE 102 Tissues used for Maize transcriptome expression sets (Under normal conditions) Expression set Set ID Female meristem at flowering 1 stage under normal conditions leaf at flowering stage under 2 normal conditions stem at flowering stage under 3 normal conditions stem at grain filling stage under 4 normal conditions Table 102: Provided are the identification (ID) numbers of each of the Maize expression sets.

TABLE 103 Tissues used for Maize transcriptome expression sets (Under defoliation conditions) Expression Set Set ID Female meristem at flowering stage under defoliation conditions 1 leaf at flowering stage under defoliation conditions 2 stem at flowering stage under defoliation conditions 3 stem at grain filling stage under defoliation conditions 4 Provided are the identification (ID) numbers of each of the Maize expression sets.

The image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

The following parameters were collected by imaging.

1000 grain weight—At the end of the experiment all seeds from all plots were collected and weighed and the weight of 1000 was calculated.

Ear Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ears.

Ear Length and Ear Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear length and width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ears.

Grain Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Length and Grain width (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths/or width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Perimeter (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain perimeter was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Ear filled grain area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear area filled with kernels was measured from those images and was divided by the number of Ears.

Filled per Whole Ear—was calculated as the length of the ear with grains out of the total ear.

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 6 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Cob width [cm]—The diameter of the cob without grains was measured using a ruler.

Ear average weight [kg]—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots were collected. The ears were weighted and the average ear per plant was calculated. The ear weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%.

Plant height and Ear height—Plants were characterized for height at harvesting. In each measure, 6 plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the plant below the tassel. Ear height was measured from the ground level to the place were the main ear is located

Ear row num—The number of rows per ear was counted.

Ear fresh weight per plant (GF)—During the grain filling period (GF) and total and 6 selected ears per plot were collected separately. The ears were weighted and the average ear weight per plant was calculated.

Ears dry weight—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots were collected and weighted. The ear weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%.

Ears fresh weight—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots were collected and weighted.

Ears per plant—number of ears per plant were counted.

Grains weight (Kg.)—At the end of the experiment all ears were collected. Ears from 6 plants from each plot were separately threshed and grains were weighted.

Grains dry weight (Kg.)—At the end of the experiment all ears were collected. Ears from 6 plants from each plot were separately threshed and grains were weighted. The grain weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%.

Grain weight per ear (Kg.)—At the end of the experiment all ears were collected. 5 ears from each plot were separately threshed and grains were weighted. The average grain weight per ear was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of ears.

Leaves area per plant at GF and HD [LAI, leaf area index]=Total leaf area of 6 plants in a plot his parameter was measured at two time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD) and during the grain filling period (GF). Measurement was performed using a Leaf area-meter at two time points in the course of the experiment; during the grain filling period and at the heading stage (VT).

Leaves fresh weight at GF and HD—This parameter was measured at two time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD) and during the grain filling period (GF). Leaves used for measurement of the LAI were weighted.

Lower stem fresh weight at GF, HD and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment: at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Lower internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted. The average internode weight per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Lower stem length at GF, HD and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Lower internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their length was measured using a ruler. The average internode length per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Lower stem width at GF, HD, and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment: at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Lower internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their diameter was measured using a caliber. The average internode width per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Plant height growth—the relative growth rate (RGR) of Plant Height was calculated as described in Formula III above.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 64 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot. Data were taken after 46 and 54 days after sowing (DPS).

Stem fresh weight at GF and HD—This parameter was measured at two time points during the course of the experiment: at heading (HD) and during the grain filling period (GF). Stems of the plants used for measurement of the LAI were weighted.

Total dry matter—Total dry matter was calculated using Formula XXI above.

Upper stem fresh weight at GF, HD and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Upper internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted. The average internode weight per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Upper stem length at GF, HD, and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Upper internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their length was measured using a ruler. The average internode length per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Upper stem width at GF, HD and H (mm)—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Upper internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their diameter was measured using a caliber. The average internode width per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Vegetative dry weight (Kg.)—total weight of the vegetative portion of 6 plants (above ground excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours weight by the number of plants.

Vegetative fresh weight (Kg.)—total weight of the vegetative portion of 6 plants (above ground excluding roots).

Node number—nodes on the stem were counted at the heading stage of plant development.

TABLE 104 Maize correlated parameters (vectors) under normal grown conditions and under the treatment of defoliation Normal conditions Defoliation Correlation Correlation Correlated parameter with ID Correlated parameter with ID 1000 grain weight [g] 1 1000 grain weight 1 Avr internode length 2 Avr_internode_length 2 Cob width [mm] 3 Cob width 3 Ear Area [cm²] 4 Ear Area (cm²) 4 Ear filled grain area [cm²] 5 Ear filled grain area 5 Ear Width [cm] 6 Ear Width 6 Ear average weight [g] 7 Ear average weight 7 Ear height [cm] 8 Ear height 8 Ear length [cm] 9 Ear length 9 Ear row num 10 Ear row num 10 Ear fresh weight per plant (GF) [g/plant] 11 Ears dry weight 11 Ears dry weight [kg] 12 Ears fresh weight 12 Ears fresh weight [kg] 13 Ears per plant 13 Ears per plant [number] 14 Filled per Whole Ear 14 Filled per Whole Ear [value] 15 Grain Perimeter 15 Grain Perimeter [cm] 16 Grain area [cm²] 16 Grain area [cm²] 17 Grain length 17 Grain length [cm] 18 Grain_width 18 Grain width [cm] 19 Grains dry weight 19 Grains dry weight [kg] 20 Grains weight 20 Grains weight [kg] 21 Grain weight per ear 21 Grain weight per ear [kg] 22 Harvest_index 22 Harvest index 23 Leaves fresh weight (HD) 23 Leaves fresh weight (GF) [g] 24 Leaves area per plant (HD) 24 Leaves fresh weight (HD) [g] 25 Leaves temperature (GF) 25 Leaves area per plant (GF) [cm²] 26 Lower stem fresh weight (H) 26 Leaves area per plant (HD) [cm²] 27 Lower stem fresh weight (HD) 27 Leaves temperature (GF) 28 Lower stem length (H) 28 Lower stem fresh weight (GF) [g] 29 Lower stem length (HD) 29 Lower stem fresh weight (H) [g] 30 Lower stem width (H) 30 Lower stem fresh weight (HD) [g] 31 Lower stem width (HD) 31 Lower stem length (GF) [cm] 32 Node number 32 Lower stem length (H) [cm] 33 Plant height 33 Lower stem length (HD) [cm] 34 Plant height growth 34 Lower stem width (GF) [mm] 35 SPAD (GF) 35 Lower stem width (H) 36 Stem fresh weight (HD) 36 Lower stem width (HD) [mm] 37 Total dry matter 37 Node_number 38 Upper stem fresh weight (H) 38 Plant height [cm] 39 Upper stem length (H) 39 Plant height growth [cm/day] 40 Upper stem width (H) 40 SPAD (GF) [value] 41 Vegetative dry weight 41 Stem fresh weight (GF) [g] 42 Vegetative fresh weight 42 Stem fresh weight (HD) [g] 43 Total dry matter [kg] 44 Upper stem fresh weight (GF) [g] 45 Upper stem fresh weight (H) [g] 46 Upper stem length (GF) [cm] 47 Upper stem length (H) [cm] 48 Upper stem width (GF) [mm] 49 Upper stem width (H) [mm] 50 Vegetative dry weight [kg] 51 Vegetative fresh weight [kg] 52

Thirteen maize varieties were grown, and characterized for parameters, as described above. The average for each parameter was calculated using the JMP software, and values are summarized in Tables 105-108 below. Subsequent correlation between the various transcriptome sets for all or sub set of lines was done by the bioinformatic unit and results were integrated into the database (Tables 109 and 110 below).

TABLE 105 Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under normal conditions Eco- type/ Treat- ment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 1 296.50 263.25 303.61 304.70 281.18 330.45 290.88 2 17.44 17.61 18.55 19.18 18.66 19.52 17.11 3 24.63 25.11 23.21 23.69 22.81 22.40 23.18 4 82.30 74.63 77.00 90.15 83.80 96.63 78.36 5 80.89 72.42 73.43 85.96 80.64 95.03 74.41 6 4.66 4.79 4.96 5.00 4.65 4.80 4.79 7 209.50 164.63 177.44 218.53 205.58 135.77 147.49 8 121.67 134.24 149.64 152.14 143.83 133.65 118.39 9 22.09 19.62 20.02 23.21 22.63 23.74 20.31 10 13.00 14.94 14.56 14.56 13.56 13.06 16.12 11 351.26 323.08 307.87 330.60 320.51 434.60 325.08 12 1.26 1.09 1.06 1.31 1.23 1.35 1.16 13 1.69 1.46 1.41 1.70 1.52 1.74 1.80 14 1.000 1.111 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.056 1.000 15 0.982 0.969 0.953 0.953 0.949 0.937 0.930 16 3.30 3.23 3.28 3.34 3.18 3.38 3.25 17 0.72 0.67 0.71 0.72 0.67 0.75 0.66 18 1.12 1.12 1.13 1.17 1.08 1.16 1.14 19 0.81 0.75 0.79 0.78 0.79 0.82 0.74 20 0.91 0.80 0.77 0.92 0.83 0.99 0.82 21 1.04 0.91 0.87 1.06 0.95 1.12 0.94 22 0.15 0.13 0.13 0.15 0.14 0.16 0.14 23 0.35 0.39 0.33 0.38 0.35 0.39 0.36 24 230.13 197.64 201.03 205.53 224.81 204.49 212.41 25 110.97 80.57 157.21 128.83 100.57 111.80 116.75 26 7034.60 6402.80 6353.07 6443.92 6835.50 6507.33 7123.48 27 4341.25 3171.00 4205.50 4347.50 3527.00 4517.33 3984.75 28 33.11 33.52 33.87 34.18 33.78 32.85 33.19 29 35.40 25.03 26.51 21.74 26.13 34.44 27.61 30 23.52 20.34 25.08 14.18 17.53 25.74 20.60 31 72.99 59.90 74.72 90.48 69.52 66.91 60.36 32 19.35 20.40 20.93 21.38 20.03 20.31 18.08 33 16.76 20.02 22.59 21.68 22.34 21.39 17.07 34 14.50 17.75 20.00 19.35 20.33 20.75 15.00 35 19.86 16.84 16.14 16.37 17.01 17.53 18.11 36 19.42 17.19 16.09 16.92 17.52 17.88 17.96 37 24.14 20.53 20.97 24.43 21.70 19.49 23.47 38 15.22 14.56 14.61 14.83 15.00 13.83 14.28 39 265.11 255.94 271.11 283.89 279.72 268.78 244.25 40 5.43 5.59 6.15 5.99 6.37 6.47 4.82 41 59.77 53.17 53.21 54.95 53.99 55.24 55.38 42 649.03 489.32 524.06 512.66 542.16 627.76 507.78 43 758.61 587.88 801.32 794.80 721.87 708.38 660.70 44 2.57 2.06 2.32 2.44 2.36 2.57 2.23 45 19.61 15.54 17.82 10.79 14.41 20.31 15.85 46 12.94 11.21 12.98 6.50 7.99 12.08 9.72 47 16.63 18.75 18.38 17.92 17.60 18.79 17.07 48 16.93 18.76 18.72 20.01 19.40 19.65 16.42 49 16.00 14.11 13.50 11.89 13.08 14.34 15.04 50 14.93 13.00 12.44 12.04 12.89 13.28 13.10 51 1.31 0.97 1.25 1.13 1.13 1.21 1.07 52 3.16 2.25 2.61 2.60 2.42 2.64 2.22

TABLE 106 Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under normal conditions, additional maize lines Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 250.26 306.20 253.19 277.03 269.53 274.81 2 18.59 17.72 20.63 17.96 17.36 19.28 3 24.88 26.47 23.09 22.69 23.55 26.31 4 93.91 96.77 85.44 76.77 NA 97.99 5 92.31 95.43 83.28 74.35 NA 96.88 6 5.18 5.00 4.95 4.79 NA 5.43 7 207.11 228.44 215.92 198.69 188.50 254.42 8 145.24 133.78 143.71 134.17 143.00 147.78 9 22.60 23.84 21.74 20.04 NA 22.41 10 15.89 14.00 15.44 14.89 14.94 16.78 11 327.15 363.70 405.72 338.24 345.32 369.69 12 1.29 1.37 1.30 1.19 1.13 1.53 13 1.60 1.74 1.68 1.56 1.42 1.89 14 1.056 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 15 0.982 0.986 0.974 0.966 NA 0.989 16 3.18 3.29 3.27 3.22 3.15 3.38 17 0.65 0.70 0.68 0.67 0.65 0.72 18 1.12 1.15 1.16 1.12 1.09 1.21 19 0.73 0.77 0.74 0.76 0.76 0.76 20 0.92 1.02 0.94 0.85 0.81 1.14 21 1.05 1.15 1.08 0.97 0.92 1.29 22 0.15 0.17 0.16 0.14 0.14 0.19 23 0.33 0.44 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.40 24 181.43 199.22 206.91 168.54 199.42 200.12 25 106.95 85.97 102.71 105.73 102.12 143.06 26 6075.21 6597.67 6030.40 6307.06 6617.65 6848.03 27 3696.75 3926.67 3127.67 3942.75 3955.00 4854.00 28 33.66 33.78 32.64 33.95 33.28 33.90 29 25.26 26.18 34.31 25.50 23.06 25.59 30 16.35 18.90 27.30 22.35 19.26 22.82 31 63.07 55.89 82.13 60.02 58.70 116.12 32 20.18 19.81 22.89 19.81 19.53 21.40 33 20.69 18.48 23.31 19.39 19.66 19.97 34 18.68 20.50 22.57 19.83 14.50 20.33 35 17.09 16.87 17.49 16.62 17.10 17.38 36 18.42 17.43 18.07 17.68 17.61 18.93 37 20.97 21.46 21.41 22.12 23.25 24.31 38 14.72 15.44 14.33 14.44 14.89 14.39 39 273.56 273.22 295.33 259.25 257.89 277.19 40 6.01 5.99 6.66 5.99 5.62 6.53 41 56.76 55.81 58.54 51.68 55.16 54.16 42 549.34 509.74 662.13 527.43 474.68 544.03 43 724.58 618.46 837.56 612.81 728.00 950.29 44 2.73 2.33 2.40 2.20 2.08 2.84 45 14.39 17.85 20.42 13.93 13.05 16.45 46 6.98 9.40 13.58 9.20 7.69 10.17 47 17.52 18.15 18.61 17.69 18.15 18.64 48 18.34 16.63 19.38 16.71 16.27 15.92 49 13.63 14.73 14.61 13.17 12.77 14.15 50 13.48 13.42 13.27 13.14 12.53 13.79 51 1.44 0.96 1.10 1.01 0.95 1.31 52 2.90 2.22 2.83 2.29 2.15 2.90

TABLE 107 Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under defoliation Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 1 280.03 251.86 294.29 295.36 288.40 308.25 230.12 2 16.60 17.30 17.91 18.88 19.27 18.41 17.72 3 19.03 22.12 16.31 21.54 19.84 18.21 19.77 4 53.60 45.50 38.31 58.47 53.89 63.54 39.83 5 51.50 42.95 34.59 55.67 51.36 61.44 36.31 6 4.18 4.21 3.92 4.77 4.51 4.61 4.10 7 89.20 100.75 73.39 129.84 129.78 115.06 85.04 8 119.44 131.56 145.53 156.06 145.28 129.53 123.38 9 16.34 13.63 12.89 15.94 15.34 17.53 13.21 10 12.71 14.36 13.00 14.12 13.47 13.07 14.06 11 0.75 0.58 0.44 0.74 0.78 0.58 0.45 12 0.97 0.83 0.63 0.98 1.01 0.80 0.65 13 1.00 0.94 1.00 0.94 1.00 0.94 0.89 14 0.954 0.915 0.873 0.950 0.948 0.961 0.905 15 3.109 3.144 3.179 3.207 3.196 3.230 3.130 16 0.649 0.632 0.669 0.675 0.677 0.683 0.631 17 1.052 1.080 1.079 1.110 1.087 1.094 1.066 18 0.777 0.740 0.781 0.765 0.786 0.788 0.750 19 0.52 0.40 0.29 0.52 0.55 0.40 0.30 20 0.60 0.46 0.33 0.59 0.62 0.46 0.35 21 0.09 0.07 0.05 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.06 22 0.34 0.28 0.21 0.33 0.35 0.26 0.22 23 112.27 94.99 125.14 144.48 112.50 116.16 113.78 24 3914.00 3480.00 4276.50 4985.50 4643.50 4223.00 3436.00 25 32.47 33.09 33.64 32.29 32.87 33.40 33.43 26 23.02 26.50 26.98 15.24 18.19 37.21 27.88 27 64.16 53.81 56.41 80.95 71.27 66.69 64.19 28 16.29 21.44 20.85 22.58 22.94 21.62 18.76 29 15.15 18.50 16.67 18.07 18.00 19.83 16.10 30 19.54 16.90 15.79 17.01 17.12 18.17 18.21 31 24.30 20.57 21.06 24.87 20.85 20.46 20.96 32 15.17 14.39 15.00 15.11 14.50 14.22 14.39 33 251.42 248.64 268.06 285.11 278.83 261.88 254.64 34 6.38 6.32 6.31 6.93 6.83 7.14 6.48 35 61.21 57.36 58.02 62.36 60.72 62.22 59.65 36 713.54 538.04 705.53 803.33 703.36 664.23 673.24 37 1.54 1.37 1.44 1.53 1.57 1.57 1.34 38 8.68 11.08 14.10 4.89 6.04 13.95 10.93 39 16.24 18.83 17.74 19.64 20.74 20.14 17.18 40 14.27 12.82 12.69 11.09 12.00 13.03 14.25 41 0.79 0.78 1.00 0.79 0.79 1.00 0.88 42 2.51 1.96 2.80 2.11 2.20 2.79 2.54

TABLE 108 Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under defoliation, additional maize lines Ecotype/ Treatment Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 1 271.25 259.43 243.98 262.41 248.64 244.16 2 17.88 17.26 18.94 18.69 18.25 19.97 3 22.44 20.28 19.64 22.32 23.31 27.78 4 47.33 65.90 43.83 43.28 52.30 58.31 5 43.34 64.80 39.56 40.43 49.28 55.69 6 4.20 4.66 4.06 4.01 4.41 4.98 7 33.10 161.76 89.36 87.68 88.18 124.58 8 135.00 136.50 136.39 130.32 139.71 143.44 9 14.82 17.60 13.78 13.75 15.53 14.87 10 13.75 13.94 12.79 13.00 14.29 15.83 11 0.63 0.80 0.54 0.55 0.51 0.75 12 0.82 1.15 0.88 0.79 0.69 0.99 13 1.00 0.88 1.00 1.06 0.94 1.00 14 0.905 0.983 0.890 0.918 0.940 0.950 15 3.016 3.117 3.086 3.030 2.976 3.153 16 0.610 0.623 0.619 0.600 0.583 0.631 17 1.024 1.084 1.054 1.025 0.995 1.095 18 0.750 0.724 0.741 0.738 0.733 0.725 19 0.44 0.67 0.36 0.38 0.34 0.53 20 0.50 0.77 0.41 0.43 0.39 0.61 21 0.07 0.12 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.09 22 0.28 0.38 0.24 0.29 0.23 0.31 23 93.74 89.86 86.98 117.27 150.68 161.65 24 4593.00 4315.50 4020.50 4154.00 4851.50 3750.00 25 33.42 33.98 33.12 32.64 33.55 33.27 26 17.33 20.51 25.36 28.41 23.16 38.80 27 76.23 57.85 69.98 67.30 72.90 83.58 28 20.88 17.83 20.70 20.43 20.11 24.13 29 14.83 17.50 23.67 19.00 16.45 20.60 30 17.23 17.88 17.12 17.53 18.63 19.87 31 22.47 21.23 19.85 21.29 23.58 21.37 32 14.67 15.61 14.39 14.06 14.61 14.00 33 261.94 268.88 272.71 262.50 266.33 279.14 34 6.28 7.04 7.20 7.34 6.94 7.27 35 59.99 56.76 65.70 57.94 60.31 57.71 36 738.37 692.23 619.79 729.23 794.64 847.52 37 1.47 1.66 1.48 1.31 1.48 1.71 38 6.48 9.01 10.69 10.38 8.49 12.29 39 19.12 16.74 15.96 17.31 18.19 17.77 40 12.77 13.52 13.08 13.43 13.21 14.72 41 0.84 0.86 0.94 0.76 0.96 0.97 42 2.48 2.35 2.59 2.41 2.70 2.72

Tables 109 and 110 hereinbelow provide the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal and defoliation conditions across maize varieties. P=p value.

TABLE 109 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across maize varieties Corr. Corr. Gene Exp. Set Gene Exp. Set Name R P value set ID Name R P value set ID LGP25 0.75 3.33E−03 1 45 LGP25 0.72 5.13E−03 1 11 LGP25 0.74 5.65E−03 3 21 LGP25 0.75 5.40E−03 3 12 LGP25 0.83 9.13E−04 3 43 LGP25 0.80 1.68E−03 3 31 LGP25 0.75 5.38E−03 3 22 LGP25 0.75 5.38E−03 3 20 LGP25 0.72 1.30E−02 4 21 LGP25 0.70 1.57E−02 4 43 LGP25 0.73 1.02E−02 4 45 LGP25 0.86 6.67E−04 4 11 LGP25 0.72 1.29E−02 4 22 LGP25 0.72 1.29E−02 4 20 LGP25 0.71 1.48E−02 2 11 LGP27 0.72 7.70E−03 3 29 LGP27 0.80 1.84E−03 3 45 LGP27 0.84 6.86E−04 3 46 LGP27 0.75 7.62E−03 2 45 LGP27 0.74 9.39E−03 2 17 LGP27 0.73 1.09E−02 2 16 LGP27 0.83 1.56E−03 2 11 LGP72 0.72 1.21E−02 4 34 LGP72 0.75 7.83E−03 4 33 LGP72 0.83 1.50E−03 4 48 LGP73 0.72 8.51E−03 3 40 LGP73 0.71 1.02E−02 3 34 LGP73 0.80 1.87E−03 3 39 LGP73 0.71 1.48E−02 4 10 LGP73 0.90 1.49E−04 4 3 LGP73 0.71 1.52E−02 4 32 LGP73 0.73 1.09E−02 4 2 LGP73 0.76 6.28E−03 2 47 LGP73 0.71 1.41E−02 2 11 LGP74 0.75 3.29E−03 1 3 LGP74 0.87 9.50E−05 1 7 LGP74 0.81 1.32E−03 1 15 LGP74 0.72 1.28E−02 4 21 LGP74 0.72 1.19E−02 4 31 LGP74 0.76 6.92E−03 4 18 LGP74 0.73 1.56E−02 4 6 LGP74 0.73 1.06E−02 4 22 LGP74 0.73 1.06E−02 4 20 LGP74 0.73 1.64E−02 2 9 LGP74 0.74 1.38E−02 2 6 LGP75 0.74 5.59E−03 3 2 LGP82 0.78 4.80E−03 4 32 LGP86 0.75 7.37E−03 4 43 LGP86 0.84 1.07E−03 2 45 LGP86 0.76 7.16E−03 2 30 LGP86 0.81 2.48E−03 2 11 LGP86 0.74 9.22E−03 2 46 LGP87 0.75 4.72E−03 3 33 LGP87 0.72 8.91E−03 3 47 LGP87 0.71 9.32E−03 3 48 LGP87 0.80 1.77E−03 3 32 LGP87 0.75 5.20E−03 3 2 LGP87 0.84 1.29E−03 4 10 LGP87 0.75 7.96E−03 2 21 LGP87 0.72 1.97E−02 2 5 LGP87 0.76 7.10E−03 2 22 LGP87 0.76 7.10E−03 2 20 LGP88 0.75 4.89E−03 3 43 LGP88 0.74 8.97E−03 3 6 LGP88 0.75 7.64E−03 4 11 LGP89 0.73 1.08E−02 4 21 LGP89 0.73 1.02E−02 4 43 LGP89 0.78 5.03E−03 4 31 LGP89 0.81 2.29E−03 4 18 LGP89 0.72 1.29E−02 4 2 LGP89 0.73 1.05E−02 4 11 LGP89 0.73 1.05E−02 4 22 LGP89 0.73 1.05E−02 4 20 LGP90 0.91 3.04E−05 3 21 LGP90 0.90 5.43E−05 3 12 LGP90 0.72 8.49E−03 3 39 LGP90 0.72 8.14E−03 3 43 LGP90 0.77 5.82E−03 3 5 LGP90 0.75 4.93E−03 3 31 LGP90 0.84 6.59E−04 3 18 LGP90 0.77 5.45E−03 3 4 LGP90 0.76 4.40E−03 3 16 LGP90 0.70 1.09E−02 3 32 LGP90 0.72 8.41E−03 3 2 LGP90 0.91 4.16E−05 3 22 LGP90 0.91 4.16E−05 3 20 LGP91 0.71 9.82E−03 3 43 LGP91 0.75 5.23E−03 3 25 LGP91 0.78 4.45E−03 4 43 LGP91 0.74 9.48E−03 4 31 LGP92 0.77 5.88E−03 3 15 LGP92 0.79 2.22E−03 3 52 LGP94 0.72 1.22E−02 4 43 LGP95 0.72 8.44E−03 3 48 LGP95 0.88 3.26E−04 4 14 LGP95 0.77 9.60E−03 2 5 LGP95 0.78 4.38E−03 2 47 LGP95 0.76 1.04E−02 2 9 LGP95 0.76 1.00E−02 2 4 LGP95 0.78 7.60E−03 2 6

TABLE 110 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal defoliation across maize varieties Gene Exp. Corr. Gene Exp. Corr. Name R P value set Set ID Name R P value set Set ID LGP25 0.77 5.16E−03 4 30 LGP25 0.72 1.24E−02 4 42 LGP27 0.74 6.01E−03 2 38 LGP27 0.78 3.07E−03 2 26 LGP27 0.76 6.58E−03 4 30 LGP72 0.80 1.68E−03 1 21 LGP72 0.72 7.96E−03 1 20 LGP72 0.71 9.99E−03 1 11 LGP72 0.73 6.65E−03 1 22 LGP72 0.72 8.14E−03 1 19 LGP72 0.81 1.30E−03 3 39 LGP72 0.79 2.27E−03 3 28 LGP72 0.75 5.19E−03 3 1 LGP72 0.71 9.03E−03 3 2 LGP73 0.71 9.34E−03 1 42 LGP73 0.74 5.68E−03 1 41 LGP73 0.74 5.87E−03 1 34 LGP73 0.71 9.06E−03 3 16 LGP73 0.74 5.85E−03 3 18 LGP73 0.78 2.88E−03 2 3 LGP74 0.70 1.07E−02 2 17 LGP74 0.75 7.38E−03 4 38 LGP74 0.74 8.95E−03 4 40 LGP74 0.90 1.43E−04 4 30 LGP74 0.88 3.82E−04 4 26 LGP82 0.71 1.00E−02 3 39 LGP82 0.73 7.37E−03 3 28 LGP82 0.84 1.14E−03 4 3 LGP82 0.78 4.59E−03 4 10 LGP82 0.75 7.39E−03 4 26 LGP86 0.73 6.72E−03 3 39 LGP86 0.81 2.66E−03 4 31 LGP87 0.77 3.63E−03 2 26 LGP87 0.71 1.40E−02 4 11 LGP88 0.70 1.64E−02 4 37 LGP88 0.74 9.78E−03 4 41 LGP89 0.79 2.02E−03 3 35 LGP90 0.80 1.98E−03 1 3 LGP91 0.78 3.00E−03 3 23 LGP91 0.78 2.97E−03 3 36 LGP91 0.73 7.20E−03 3 27 LGP91 0.77 5.40E−03 4 36 LGP91 0.91 1.11E−04 4 30 LGP91 0.76 7.22E−03 4 42 LGP94 0.71 9.99E−03 3 23 LGP94 0.76 4.11E−03 2 30 LGP94 0.85 9.61E−04 4 30 LGP94 0.71 1.48E−02 4 31 LGP95 0.83 9.53E−04 1 29 LGP95 0.82 1.18E−03 2 29 LGP95 0.85 4.31E−04 2 26

Example 14 Production of Maize Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with Yield and NUE Related Parameters Using 60K Maize Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a maize oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60,000 maize genes and transcripts.

Correlation of Maize Hybrids Across Ecotypes Grown Under Low Nitrogen Conditions

Experimental Procedures

12 Maize hybrids were grown in 3 repetitive plots in field. Maize seeds were planted and plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols, which included 485 m³ water per dunam per entire growth period and fertilization of 30 units of nitrogen (using URAN® 21% fertilization) per dunam per entire growth period (normal conditions) or under low nitrogen conditions which included 50% percent less Nitrogen as compared to the amount of nitrogen provided under the normal conditions. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with NUE and yield components or vigor related parameters the 12 different maize hybrids were analyzed. Among them, 11 hybrids encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Analyzed Maize tissues—All 10 selected maize hybrids were sampled per each treatment (low N and normal conditions), in three time points (TP2=V6-V8 (six to eight collar leaf are visible, rapid growth phase and kernel row determination begins), TP5=R1-R2 (silking-blister), TP6=R3-R4 (milk-dough). Four types of plant tissues [Ear, flag leaf indicated in Table as leaf, grain distal part, and internode] were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Tables 111-112 below.

TABLE 111 Maize transcriptome expression sets under low nitrogen conditions Expression Set Set ID Maize field Low N/Ear/TP5 1 Maize field Low N/Ear/TP6 2 Maize field Low N/Internodes/TP2 3 Maize field Low N/Internodes/TP5 4 Maize field Low N/Internodes/TP6 5 Maize field Low N/Leaf/TP2 6 Maize field Low N/Leaf/TP5 7 Maize field Low N/Leaf/TP6 8 Provided are the maize transcriptome expression sets under low nitrogen conditions Leaf = the leaf below the main ear; Flower meristem = Apical meristem following male flower initiation; Ear = the female flower at the anthesis day. Grain Distal = maize developing grains from the cob extreme area, Grain Basal = maize developing grains from the cob basal area; Internodes = internodes located above and below the main ear in the plant.

TABLE 112 Maize transcriptome expression sets under normal growth conditions Expression Set Set ID Maize field Normal/Ear/R1-R2 1 Maize field Normal/Grain Distal/R4-R5 2 Maize field Normal/Internode/R3-R4 3 Maize field Normal/Leaf/R1-R2 4 Maize field Normal/Ear/R3-R4 5 Maize field Normal/Internode/R1-R2 6 Maize field Normal/Internode/V6-V8 7 Maize field Normal/Leaf/V6-V8 8 Provided are the maize transcriptome expression sets under normal growth conditions. Leaf = the leaf below the main ear; Flower meristem = Apical meristem following male flower initiation; Ear = the female flower at the anthesis day. Grain Distal = maize developing grains from the cob extreme area, Grain Basal = maize developing grains from the cob basal area; Internodes = internodes located above and below the main ear in the plant.

The following parameters were collected using digital imaging system:

Grain Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Length and Grain width (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths/or width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Ear Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of Ears.

Ear Length and Ear Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 5 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear length and width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ears.

The image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 6 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Normalized Grain Weight per plant (gr.)—At the end of the experiment all ears from plots within blocks A-C were collected. Six ears were separately threshed and grains were weighted, all additional ears were threshed together and weighted as well. The average grain weight per ear was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by number of total ears per plot (based on plot). In case of 6 ears, the total grains weight of 6 ears was divided by 6.

Ear FW (gr.)—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots within blocks A-C were collected separately. The plants (total and 6) were weighted (gr.) separately and the average ear per plant was calculated for total (Ear FW per plot) and for 6 (Ear FW per plant).

Plant height and Ear height—Plants were characterized for height at harvesting. In each measure, 6 plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the plant below the tassel. Ear height was measured from the ground level to the place were the main ear is located.

Leaf number per plant—Plants were characterized for leaf number during growing period at 5 time points. In each measure, plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of 3 selected plants per plot.

Relative Growth Rate was calculated using Formulas II-XIII, XXVIII, and/or XXXIV (described above).

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at early stages of grain filling (R1-R2) and late stage of grain filling (R3-R4). SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot. Data were taken after 46 and 54 days after sowing (DPS).

Dry weight per plant—At the end of the experiment (when inflorescence were dry) all vegetative material from plots within blocks A-C were collected.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours.

Harvest Index (HI) (Maize)—The harvest index per plant was calculated using Formula XVII above.

Percent Filled Ear [%]—it was calculated as the percentage of the Ear area with grains out of the total ear.

Cob diameter [cm]—The diameter of the cob without grains was measured using a ruler.

Kernel Row Number per Ear—The number of rows in each ear was counted.

Experimental Results

11 different maize hybrids were grown and characterized for different parameters. Tables 111-112 describe the Maize expression sets, and Tables 113-114 below describe the Maize correlated parameters. The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 115-118) and a subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Table 119-120). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 113 Maize correlated parameters (vectors) under low nitrogen conditions Correlation Correlated parameter with ID Ear Length [cm] Low N 1 Ear Length of filled area [cm] Low N 2 Ear width [mm] Low N 3 Final Leaf Number [number] Low N 4 Final Main Ear Height [cm] Low N 5 Final Plant Height [cm] Low N 6 No of rows per ear [number] Low N 7 SPAD at R1-R2 [number] Low N 8 SPAD at R3-R4 [number] Low N 9 Stalk width at TP5 [cm] Low N 10 Ears weight per plot [kg] Low N 11 Final Plant DW [kg] Low N 12 Final Leaf Area [number] Low N 13 NUE yield kg/N applied in soil kg Low N 14 NUE at early grain filling [R1-R2] yield kg/N in 15 plant per SPAD Low N NUE at grain filling [R3-R4] yield kg/N in plant 16 per SPAD Low N NUpE [biomass/N applied] Low N 17 Seed yield per dunam [kg] Low N 18 Yield/LAI [Kg/cm²] Low N 19 Yield/stalk width [Kg/cm] Low N 20 seed yield per plant [kg] Low N 21 “cm” = centimeters’ “mm” = millimeters; “kg” = kilograms; SPAD at R1-R2 and SPAD R3-R4: Chlorophyll level after early and late stages of grain filling; “NUE” = nitrogen use efficiency; “NUpE” = nitrogen uptake efficiency; “LAI” = leaf area; “N” = nitrogen; Low N = under low Nitrogen conditions; “Normal” = under normal conditions; “dunam” = 1000 m².

TABLE 114 Maize correlated parameters (vectors) under normal conditions Correlation Correlated parameter with ID Final Plant DW [kg] Normal 1 Ear Length [cm] Normal 2 Ear Length of filled area [cm] Normal 3 Ear width [mm] Normal 4 Final Leaf Number [number] Normal 5 Final Main Ear Height [cm] Normal 6 Final Plant Height [cm] Normal 7 No of rows per ear [number] Normal 8 SPAD at R1-R2 [number] Normal 9 SPAD at R3-R4 [number] Normal 10 Stalk width at TP5 Normal 11 Ears weight per plot [kg] Normal 12 Final Leaf Area [number] Normal 13 NUE yield kg/N applied in soil kg Normal 14 NUE at early grain filling [R1-R2] yield kg/N 15 in plant per SPAD Normal NUE at grain filling [R3-R4] yield kg/N in 16 plant per SPAD Normal NUpE [biomass/N applied] Normal 17 Seed yield per dunam [kg] Normal 18 Yield/LAI Normal 19 Yield/stalk width Normal 20 seed yield per plant [kg] Normal 21 “cm” = centimeters’ “mm” = millimeters; “kg” = kilograms; SPAD at R1-R2 and SPAD R3-R4: Chlorophyll level after early and late stages of grain filling; “NUE” = nitrogen use efficiency; “NUpE” = nitrogen uptake efficiency; “LAI” = leaf area; “N” = nitrogen; Low N = under low Nitrogen conditions; “Normal” = under normal conditions; “dunam” = 1000 m².

TABLE 115 Measured parameters in Maize accessions under Low nitrogen conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 20.61 20.98 20.22 20.11 20.11 18.50 2 18.40 18.42 19.78 18.83 16.22 16.00 3 46.71 48.22 48.32 49.86 52.87 47.44 4 15.02 11.64 13.50 11.61 11.83 11.89 5 158.08 136.24 128.39 133.06 137.83 99.56 6 305.84 270.93 290.61 252.17 260.22 227.22 7 14.18 15.21 15.00 15.67 16.00 15.94 8 60.24 57.94 58.76 59.48 58.50 64.04 9 59.29 57.62 58.40 59.19 58.19 62.67 10 2.76 2.42 2.65 2.77 2.67 2.59 11 6.61 7.97 9.63 9.22 7.63 7.21 12 1.59 1.43 1.53 1.95 1.48 1.60 14 7.22 8.41 10.33 9.99 7.63 7.73 15 18.02 21.79 26.33 25.14 19.55 18.05 16 18.35 21.92 26.48 25.33 19.69 18.54 17 0.011 0.010 0.010 0.013 0.010 0.011 18 1083.75 1261.63 1549.24 1497.86 1143.85 1159.26 20 416.53 528.38 583.46 541.02 428.09 444.29 21 0.14 0.16 0.19 0.19 0.14 0.14 13 2.92 3.15 3.33 2.87 2.79 3.76 19 341.50 408.09 464.77 522.26 439.53 312.58 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in maize accessions (line) under low nitrogen growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 116 Additional parameters in Maize accessions under Low nitrogen conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 1 19.06 18.25 20.10 17.81 21.25 2 15.28 15.69 16.77 14.06 19.56 3 49.61 48.57 52.41 42.63 50.00 4 12.56 11.67 12.44 9.28 13.17 5 130.17 114.61 143.86 61.61 114.44 6 271.72 248.61 279.33 171.28 269.78 7 15.56 14.50 16.41 14.37 15.74 8 56.42 60.00 58.32 53.06 61.72 9 61.04 59.87 57.47 49.61 61.87 10 2.98 2.61 2.65 2.28 2.82 11 7.92 28.96 7.80 2.41 9.78 12 1.58 1.28 1.51 0.43 1.52 14 8.05 8.33 7.64 2.55 10.60 15 21.39 20.79 19.68 7.21 25.70 16 19.78 20.92 19.94 7.72 25.90 17 0.011 0.009 0.010 0.003 0.010 18 1207.42 1250.05 1146.04 383.22 1589.91 20 407.20 477.44 445.60 167.90 562.29 21 0.15 0.16 0.14 0.05 0.20 13 3.50 5.02 3.16 19 345.90 287.73 501.24 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in maize accessions (line) under low nitrogen growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 117 Measured parameters in Maize accessions under normal growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 1.27 1.30 1.33 1.50 1.30 1.58 2 19.94 20.17 18.11 19.89 19.50 17.72 3 16.23 17.50 17.72 18.44 15.67 14.67 4 51.08 46.29 45.92 47.63 51.41 47.42 5 11.80 11.11 13.28 11.78 11.94 12.33 6 130.31 122.33 127.67 113.02 135.28 94.28 7 273.46 260.50 288.00 238.50 286.94 224.83 8 16.11 14.67 15.44 15.89 16.17 15.17 9 56.89 57.16 59.27 61.61 58.63 61.23 10 59.93 60.90 56.89 58.70 58.70 63.16 11 2.91 2.64 2.71 2.90 2.70 2.62 12 8.94 7.02 7.53 7.99 8.48 5.63 14 4.45 3.62 4.01 4.24 4.01 3.12 15 23.43 19.05 20.29 20.72 20.49 15.36 16 24.98 17.81 20.33 19.96 19.03 13.90 17 0.008 0.009 0.009 0.010 0.009 0.011 18 1335.63 1087.06 1202.53 1271.20 1202.97 937.08 20 456.71 412.44 443.37 438.70 446.66 356.95 21 0.167 0.136 0.150 0.159 0.150 0.117 13 3.21 3.95 3.33 4.01 3.86 4.19 19 426.09 312.97 307.28 362.44 314.14 224.58 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in maize accessions (line) under normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 118 Additional measured parameters in Maize accessions under normal growth conditions Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 1 1.42 1.37 11.38 1.70 0.42 2 17.67 17.28 20.50 17.50 19.86 3 12.94 14.03 18.78 12.33 16.07 4 47.25 46.85 49.28 48.28 41.84 5 12.44 12.22 12.56 11.67 9.28 6 120.94 107.72 112.50 139.67 60.44 7 264.44 251.61 278.44 279.00 163.78 8 16.00 14.83 15.39 17.67 14.27 9 60.17 61.09 62.20 57.51 52.04 10 59.75 62.35 61.93 57.23 49.34 11 2.92 2.72 2.84 2.66 2.26 12 6.10 6.66 8.40 8.21 1.88 14 3.29 3.50 4.55 4.09 1.00 15 16.38 17.19 21.96 20.99 5.72 16 16.23 17.21 21.02 21.53 5.52 17 0.009 0.009 0.076 0.004 0.003 18 985.89 1050.13 1365.29 1226.08 300.93 20 337.49 385.79 481.94 471.57 139.73 21 0.123 0.131 0.171 0.15 0.04 13 3.97 4.32 2.89 4.31 19 266.44 261.66 482.33 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in maize accessions (line) under normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 119 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen conditions across maize accession Corr. Corr. Gene Exp. Set Gene Exp. Set Name R P value set ID Name R P value set ID LGP25 0.93 7.80E−03 1 19 LGP25 0.71 7.10E−02 4 17 LGP25 0.71 7.10E−02 4 12 LGP27 0.73 6.25E−02 1 18 LGP27 0.73 6.25E−02 1 14 LGP27 0.75 5.31E−02 1 20 LGP27 0.89 8.05E−03 1 2 LGP27 0.73 6.25E−02 1 21 LGP27 0.74 5.58E−02 1 16 LGP27 0.81 4.96E−02 6 10 LGP27 0.81 5.19E−02 6 3 LGP27 0.72 4.59E−02 8 4 LGP27 0.74 5.64E−02 4 13 LGP27 0.89 6.55E−03 4 11 LGP72 0.73 2.43E−02 5 4 LGP72 0.85 3.01E−02 6 9 LGP72 0.79 6.10E−02 6 8 LGP72 0.83 1.15E−02 8 4 LGP72 0.86 6.28E−03 8 5 LGP72 0.86 5.85E−03 8 6 LGP72 0.78 2.29E−02 7 18 LGP72 0.84 9.09E−03 7 17 LGP72 0.77 2.50E−02 7 9 LGP72 0.70 5.24E−02 7 4 LGP72 0.87 4.65E−03 7 3 LGP72 0.84 9.82E−03 7 5 LGP72 0.79 1.94E−02 7 7 LGP72 0.78 2.29E−02 7 14 LGP72 0.75 3.21E−02 7 20 LGP72 0.78 2.16E−02 7 6 LGP72 0.78 2.11E−02 7 15 LGP72 0.84 9.09E−03 7 12 LGP72 0.74 3.49E−02 7 1 LGP72 0.78 2.29E−02 7 21 LGP72 0.75 3.11E−02 7 16 LGP72 0.70 5.24E−02 2 9 LGP72 0.78 3.76E−02 4 5 LGP72 0.78 3.94E−02 4 1 LGP73 0.88 2.15E−02 6 5 LGP73 0.82 4.77E−02 6 6 LGP73 0.82 2.40E−02 8 19 LGP73 0.92 3.47E−03 7 13 LGP73 0.93 8.17E−04 7 11 LGP73 0.73 6.33E−02 4 9 LGP73 0.72 6.94E−02 4 4 LGP73 0.83 2.20E−02 4 8 LGP73 0.80 3.19E−02 4 6 LGP74 0.87 2.35E−02 1 13 LGP74 0.93 6.50E−03 6 17 LGP74 0.79 6.27E−02 6 4 LGP74 0.73 1.02E−01 6 7 LGP74 0.81 5.11E−02 6 6 LGP74 0.93 6.50E−03 6 12 LGP74 0.72 4.54E−02 8 7 LGP74 0.80 3.19E−02 8 19 LGP74 0.98 1.44E−04 2 13 LGP74 0.77 4.50E−02 4 8 LGP75 0.79 3.33E−02 1 5 LGP75 0.71 7.67E−02 1 1 LGP75 0.71 3.16E−02 5 18 LGP75 0.71 3.16E−02 5 14 LGP75 0.71 3.16E−02 5 21 LGP75 0.89 1.61E−02 6 18 LGP75 0.82 4.52E−02 6 4 LGP75 0.74 9.56E−02 6 3 LGP75 0.83 3.91E−02 6 5 LGP75 0.89 1.61E−02 6 14 LGP75 0.85 3.38E−02 6 6 LGP75 0.96 2.34E−03 6 15 LGP75 0.88 2.24E−02 6 19 LGP75 0.74 9.43E−02 6 2 LGP75 0.74 9.16E−02 6 1 LGP75 0.89 1.61E−02 6 21 LGP75 0.89 1.76E−02 6 16 LGP75 0.76 4.85E−02 8 19 LGP75 0.74 3.67E−02 7 18 LGP75 0.71 4.78E−02 7 8 LGP75 0.74 3.67E−02 7 14 LGP75 0.71 4.90E−02 7 20 LGP75 0.73 3.91E−02 7 11 LGP75 0.74 3.67E−02 7 21 LGP75 0.71 4.73E−02 7 16 LGP75 0.90 2.39E−03 2 17 LGP75 0.77 2.48E−02 2 5 LGP75 0.90 2.39E−03 2 12 LGP75 0.71 7.62E−02 4 20 LGP75 0.95 1.12E−03 4 6 LGP75 0.71 7.47E−02 4 2 LGP75 0.78 3.77E−02 4 1 LGP82 0.88 1.99E−02 1 19 LGP82 0.83 2.06E−02 1 2 LGP82 0.70 7.74E−02 1 1 LGP82 0.87 2.45E−02 6 5 LGP82 0.80 5.53E−02 6 6 LGP82 0.71 2.14E−02 3 17 LGP82 0.71 2.14E−02 3 12 LGP82 0.89 7.76E−03 4 17 LGP82 0.78 3.81E−02 4 3 LGP82 0.89 7.76E−03 4 12 LGP82 0.72 6.74E−02 4 19 LGP86 0.90 5.23E−03 1 18 LGP86 0.80 2.93E−02 1 4 LGP86 0.82 2.39E−02 1 3 LGP86 0.87 1.00E−02 1 5 LGP86 0.90 5.23E−03 1 14 LGP86 0.87 1.03E−02 1 20 LGP86 0.91 4.96E−03 1 6 LGP86 0.94 1.73E−03 1 15 LGP86 0.76 4.64E−02 1 2 LGP86 0.90 5.23E−03 1 21 LGP86 0.93 2.57E−03 1 16 LGP86 0.74 1.35E−02 3 18 LGP86 0.72 1.84E−02 3 10 LGP86 0.74 1.36E−02 3 17 LGP86 0.81 4.17E−03 3 4 LGP86 0.73 1.55E−02 3 3 LGP86 0.87 1.04E−03 3 5 LGP86 0.74 1.35E−02 3 14 LGP86 0.92 1.89E−04 3 6 LGP86 0.77 8.94E−03 3 15 LGP86 0.74 1.36E−02 3 12 LGP86 0.75 1.29E−02 3 1 LGP86 0.74 1.35E−02 3 21 LGP86 0.76 1.14E−02 3 16 LGP86 0.88 4.39E−03 8 4 LGP86 0.87 4.51E−03 8 5 LGP86 0.87 5.13E−03 8 6 LGP86 0.77 2.41E−02 7 18 LGP86 0.71 4.95E−02 7 4 LGP86 0.77 2.41E−02 7 14 LGP86 0.75 3.29E−02 7 20 LGP86 0.79 2.01E−02 7 15 LGP86 0.79 1.87E−02 7 2 LGP86 0.77 2.41E−02 7 21 LGP86 0.80 1.63E−02 7 16 LGP86 0.78 2.33E−02 2 17 LGP86 0.85 7.01E−03 2 5 LGP86 0.74 3.54E−02 2 6 LGP86 0.78 2.33E−02 2 12 LGP86 0.71 4.72E−02 2 2 LGP86 0.72 6.85E−02 4 10 LGP86 0.76 4.72E−02 4 3 LGP87 0.83 4.32E−02 1 19 LGP87 0.78 3.89E−02 1 1 LGP87 0.85 3.24E−02 6 10 LGP87 0.86 2.86E−02 6 4 LGP87 0.78 6.45E−02 6 3 LGP87 0.76 7.79E−02 6 6 LGP87 0.73 1.56E−02 3 18 LGP87 0.77 8.80E−03 3 10 LGP87 0.75 1.18E−02 3 17 LGP87 0.73 1.56E−02 3 9 LGP87 0.91 2.63E−04 3 3 LGP87 0.73 1.56E−02 3 14 LGP87 0.76 1.04E−02 3 15 LGP87 0.75 1.18E−02 3 12 LGP87 0.73 1.56E−02 3 21 LGP87 0.71 2.13E−02 3 16 LGP87 0.70 7.70E−02 7 13 LGP87 0.78 2.26E−02 7 18 LGP87 0.73 3.81E−02 7 17 LGP87 0.84 8.72E−03 7 9 LGP87 0.73 4.07E−02 7 3 LGP87 0.91 1.45E−03 7 8 LGP87 0.90 2.56E−03 7 7 LGP87 0.78 2.26E−02 7 14 LGP87 0.76 2.84E−02 7 20 LGP87 0.71 5.07E−02 7 15 LGP87 0.73 3.81E−02 7 12 LGP87 0.78 2.26E−02 7 21 LGP87 0.73 3.78E−02 7 16 LGP87 0.80 3.02E−02 4 8 LGP88 0.70 7.94E−02 1 8 LGP88 0.77 7.19E−02 1 19 LGP88 0.76 2.86E−02 5 19 LGP88 0.71 1.14E−01 6 8 LGP88 0.71 1.17E−01 6 1 LGP88 0.81 2.79E−02 2 13 LGP88 0.72 4.38E−02 2 11 LGP88 0.74 5.49E−02 4 18 LGP88 0.74 5.49E−02 4 14 LGP88 0.78 3.69E−02 4 6 LGP88 0.80 2.95E−02 4 15 LGP88 0.81 2.85E−02 4 19 LGP88 0.78 3.86E−02 4 2 LGP88 0.92 3.79E−03 4 1 LGP88 0.74 5.49E−02 4 21 LGP88 0.74 5.50E−02 4 16 LGP89 0.99 3.02E−04 6 18 LGP89 0.76 7.65E−02 6 10 LGP89 0.83 4.13E−02 6 4 LGP89 0.75 8.65E−02 6 3 LGP89 0.99 3.02E−04 6 14 LGP89 0.80 5.55E−02 6 20 LGP89 0.96 2.89E−03 6 15 LGP89 0.86 2.90E−02 6 19 LGP89 0.80 5.50E−02 6 2 LGP89 0.99 3.02E−04 6 21 LGP89 0.96 2.69E−03 6 16 LGP89 0.84 9.63E−03 2 2 LGP89 0.77 4.23E−02 4 9 LGP89 0.91 4.56E−03 4 8 LGP90 0.76 4.92E−02 1 5 LGP90 0.73 6.36E−02 1 6 LGP90 0.73 9.83E−02 6 5 LGP90 0.80 5.80E−02 6 6 LGP90 0.71 7.56E−02 8 19 LGP90 0.77 2.56E−02 2 17 LGP90 0.72 4.41E−02 2 5 LGP90 0.77 2.56E−02 2 12 LGP90 0.80 3.10E−02 4 9 LGP91 0.83 3.87E−02 6 18 LGP91 0.83 3.87E−02 6 14 LGP91 0.78 6.64E−02 6 20 LGP91 0.75 8.53E−02 6 15 LGP91 0.77 7.25E−02 6 19 LGP91 0.76 7.95E−02 6 2 LGP91 0.74 9.26E−02 6 1 LGP91 0.83 3.87E−02 6 21 LGP91 0.80 5.45E−02 6 16 LGP91 0.85 7.35E−03 8 8 LGP91 0.88 8.62E−03 7 13 LGP91 0.97 8.43E−05 7 11 LGP92 0.93 7.17E−03 1 13 LGP92 0.70 7.72E−02 1 9 LGP92 0.71 7.41E−02 1 8 LGP92 0.86 1.34E−02 1 11 LGP92 0.70 7.78E−02 1 1 LGP92 0.71 4.87E−02 5 19 LGP92 0.79 6.19E−02 6 5 LGP92 0.88 1.99E−02 6 6 LGP92 0.73 1.72E−02 3 1 LGP92 0.82 1.28E−02 8 7 LGP92 0.90 6.33E−03 7 13 LGP92 0.84 9.32E−03 7 11 LGP92 0.94 1.41E−03 2 13 LGP92 0.77 4.34E−02 4 8 LGP94 0.81 1.57E−02 5 13 LGP94 0.93 6.59E−03 6 13 LGP94 0.85 3.09E−02 6 11 LGP94 0.72 2.81E−02 3 13 LGP94 0.94 1.68E−03 8 13 LGP94 0.82 1.36E−02 8 11 LGP94 0.89 7.44E−03 7 13 LGP94 0.86 5.67E−03 7 11 LGP94 0.80 3.08E−02 2 13 LGP94 0.78 2.15E−02 2 17 LGP94 0.71 5.03E−02 2 5 LGP94 0.79 1.94E−02 2 11 LGP94 0.78 2.15E−02 2 12 LGP94 0.84 1.91E−02 4 13 LGP94 0.94 1.38E−03 4 11 LGP95 0.92 3.68E−03 1 10 LGP95 0.78 3.89E−02 1 9 LGP95 0.72 6.80E−02 1 7 LGP95 0.79 5.94E−02 6 13 LGP95 0.78 8.28E−03 3 18 LGP95 0.82 3.49E−03 3 17 LGP95 0.82 3.51E−03 3 9 LGP95 0.73 1.65E−02 3 3 LGP95 0.78 8.28E−03 3 14 LGP95 0.75 1.19E−02 3 20 LGP95 0.75 1.27E−02 3 15 LGP95 0.82 3.49E−03 3 12 LGP95 0.78 8.28E−03 3 21 LGP95 0.74 1.44E−02 3 16 LGP95 0.75 3.27E−02 8 20 LGP95 0.79 3.44E−02 2 13 Correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen conditions. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters Table above. “Exp. Set”—Expression set. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

TABLE 120 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across maize accessions Corr. Corr. Gene Exp. Set Gene Exp. Set Name R P value set ID Name R P value set ID LGP25 0.80 5.67E−02 5 5 LGP27 0.75 3.10E−02 2 4 LGP27 0.71 7.37E−02 4 10 LGP27 0.84 1.71E−02 6 5 LGP27 0.73 6.35E−02 6 6 LGP27 0.75 5.26E−02 6 8 LGP72 0.76 7.91E−02 5 4 LGP72 0.83 1.00E−02 2 4 LGP72 0.70 5.29E−02 2 6 LGP72 0.77 4.49E−02 4 8 LGP72 0.75 3.13E−02 3 17 LGP72 0.70 5.10E−02 3 4 LGP72 0.73 3.78E−02 3 10 LGP72 0.75 3.13E−02 3 1 LGP72 0.73 6.48E−02 6 5 LGP72 0.73 6.38E−02 6 4 LGP72 0.77 4.15E−02 6 8 LGP72 0.84 5.00E−03 7 17 LGP72 0.84 5.00E−03 7 1 LGP73 0.91 1.10E−02 5 5 LGP73 0.72 6.81E−02 6 9 LGP74 0.79 5.98E−02 1 13 LGP74 0.74 3.76E−02 7 13 LGP75 0.91 4.31E−03 1 7 LGP75 0.90 5.66E−03 1 12 LGP75 0.80 2.98E−02 1 11 LGP75 0.86 1.29E−02 1 5 LGP75 0.92 3.14E−03 1 15 LGP75 0.91 3.97E−03 1 14 LGP75 0.83 2.13E−02 1 4 LGP75 0.90 5.76E−03 1 16 LGP75 0.87 1.11E−02 1 6 LGP75 0.91 3.97E−03 1 18 LGP75 0.72 7.03E−02 1 8 LGP75 0.91 3.97E−03 1 21 LGP75 0.75 5.11E−02 1 9 LGP75 0.94 1.89E−03 1 20 LGP75 0.87 2.37E−02 5 12 LGP75 0.74 9.57E−02 5 17 LGP75 0.81 4.83E−02 5 11 LGP75 0.84 3.46E−02 5 15 LGP75 0.90 1.41E−02 5 14 LGP75 0.79 6.06E−02 5 4 LGP75 0.76 7.65E−02 5 16 LGP75 0.90 1.41E−02 5 18 LGP75 0.95 3.57E−03 5 8 LGP75 0.90 1.41E−02 5 21 LGP75 0.74 9.57E−02 5 1 LGP75 0.97 1.57E−03 5 19 LGP75 0.85 3.29E−02 5 20 LGP75 0.94 4.77E−03 5 2 LGP75 0.74 1.36E−02 8 12 LGP75 0.76 1.09E−02 8 15 LGP75 0.76 1.11E−02 8 14 LGP75 0.76 1.01E−02 8 16 LGP75 0.76 1.11E−02 8 18 LGP75 0.76 1.11E−02 8 21 LGP75 0.74 1.54E−02 8 20 LGP75 0.93 9.88E−04 3 3 LGP75 0.74 3.62E−02 3 20 LGP75 0.71 3.09E−02 7 7 LGP75 0.73 2.52E−02 7 12 LGP75 0.79 1.06E−02 7 15 LGP75 0.78 1.38E−02 7 14 LGP75 0.75 1.93E−02 7 16 LGP75 0.78 1.38E−02 7 18 LGP75 0.78 1.38E−02 7 21 LGP75 0.79 1.05E−02 7 20 LGP80 0.97 1.07E−03 5 5 LGP82 0.73 2.65E−02 7 7 LGP82 0.83 5.88E−03 7 6 LGP86 0.79 3.59E−02 1 7 LGP86 0.94 1.60E−03 1 5 LGP86 0.70 7.81E−02 1 15 LGP86 0.71 7.61E−02 1 14 LGP86 0.74 5.79E−02 1 16 LGP86 0.74 5.72E−02 1 6 LGP86 0.71 7.61E−02 1 18 LGP86 0.70 7.88E−02 1 8 LGP86 0.71 7.61E−02 1 21 LGP86 0.72 6.62E−02 1 20 LGP86 0.73 9.84E−02 5 4 LGP86 0.80 3.03E−02 4 7 LGP86 0.91 4.35E−03 4 12 LGP86 0.84 1.73E−02 4 11 LGP86 0.92 3.24E−03 4 15 LGP86 0.90 5.84E−03 4 14 LGP86 0.71 7.44E−02 4 4 LGP86 0.91 4.82E−03 4 16 LGP86 0.78 3.86E−02 4 3 LGP86 0.87 1.19E−02 4 6 LGP86 0.90 5.84E−03 4 18 LGP86 0.73 6.27E−02 4 8 LGP86 0.90 5.84E−03 4 21 LGP86 0.78 6.87E−02 4 19 LGP86 0.89 6.97E−03 4 20 LGP86 0.70 7.88E−02 6 7 LGP86 0.76 4.55E−02 6 12 LGP86 0.71 7.23E−02 6 11 LGP86 0.79 3.57E−02 6 15 LGP86 0.76 4.62E−02 6 14 LGP86 0.78 3.74E−02 6 16 LGP86 0.82 2.54E−02 6 6 LGP86 0.76 4.62E−02 6 18 LGP86 0.82 2.35E−02 6 8 LGP86 0.76 4.62E−02 6 21 LGP86 0.77 4.40E−02 6 20 LGP86 0.75 1.95E−02 7 12 LGP86 0.71 3.22E−02 7 11 LGP86 0.78 1.25E−02 7 15 LGP86 0.73 2.61E−02 7 14 LGP86 0.84 4.57E−03 7 16 LGP86 0.79 1.17E−02 7 6 LGP86 0.73 2.61E−02 7 18 LGP86 0.73 2.61E−02 7 21 LGP87 0.71 1.14E−01 5 5 LGP87 0.81 1.59E−02 2 10 LGP87 0.78 6.88E−02 6 13 LGP87 0.75 2.06E−02 7 4 LGP87 0.71 3.25E−02 7 8 LGP88 0.86 2.67E−02 1 13 LGP88 0.70 1.18E−01 5 17 LGP88 0.70 1.18E−01 5 1 LGP88 0.73 2.50E−02 8 13 LGP89 0.87 2.60E−02 5 5 LGP89 0.90 2.15E−03 2 17 LGP89 0.90 2.15E−03 2 1 LGP89 0.70 7.69E−02 6 3 LGP89 0.86 1.26E−02 6 8 LGP89 0.70 5.16E−02 7 13 LGP90 0.85 1.51E−02 1 7 LGP90 0.81 2.75E−02 1 12 LGP90 0.83 2.19E−02 1 15 LGP90 0.78 3.87E−02 1 14 LGP90 0.82 2.42E−02 1 16 LGP90 0.94 1.58E−03 1 6 LGP90 0.78 3.87E−02 1 18 LGP90 0.78 3.87E−02 1 21 LGP90 0.82 2.33E−02 1 20 LGP90 0.86 2.90E−02 5 8 LGP90 0.75 3.15E−02 2 5 LGP91 0.81 2.82E−02 1 3 LGP91 0.70 1.18E−01 5 3 LGP91 0.72 1.83E−02 8 5 LGP91 0.76 1.02E−02 8 9 LGP91 0.72 6.95E−02 4 7 LGP91 0.75 5.46E−02 4 12 LGP91 0.78 3.80E−02 4 15 LGP91 0.73 6.09E−02 4 14 LGP91 0.74 5.74E−02 4 16 LGP91 0.84 1.79E−02 4 6 LGP91 0.73 6.09E−02 4 18 LGP91 0.73 6.09E−02 4 21 LGP91 0.77 4.41E−02 4 20 LGP91 0.73 3.85E−02 3 2 LGP92 0.74 5.88E−02 1 7 LGP92 0.72 6.69E−02 1 5 LGP92 0.71 7.48E−02 1 10 LGP92 0.77 7.18E−02 5 8 LGP92 0.85 3.36E−02 6 13 LGP92 0.82 6.75E−03 7 4 LGP94 0.84 3.69E−02 5 10 LGP94 0.70 7.89E−02 4 12 LGP94 0.72 6.91E−02 4 15 LGP94 0.78 3.68E−02 4 6 LGP94 0.80 3.25E−02 6 7 LGP94 0.86 1.41E−02 6 5 LGP95 0.87 2.32E−02 5 5 LGP95 0.74 3.72E−02 2 17 LGP95 0.74 3.72E−02 2 1 LGP95 0.71 2.24E−02 8 12 LGP95 0.76 2.78E−02 3 5 Correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen conditions. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters Table above. “Exp. Set”—Expression set. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

Example 15 Production of Brachypodium Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis Using 60K Brachypodium Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis comparing between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a brachypodium oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60K brachypodium genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 24 different brachypodium accessions were analyzed. Among them, 22 accessions encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis.

The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Additional correlation analysis was done by comparing plant phenotype and gene copy number. The correlation between the normalized copy number hybridization signal and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Analyzed Brachypodium tissues—two tissues [leaf and spike] were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 121 below.

TABLE 121 Brachypodium transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Leaf at flowering stage under normal growth conditions 1 Spike at flowering stage under normal growth conditions 2 Leaf at flowering stage under normal growth conditions 3 From set ID No. 3 the sample was used to extract DNA; from set ID Nos. 1 and 2 the samples were used to extract RNA.

Brachypodium yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—24 brachypodium accessions were grown in 4-6 repetitive plots (8 plants per plot) in a green house. The growing protocol was as follows: brachypodium seeds were sown in plots and grown under normal condition (6 mM of Nitrogen as ammonium nitrate) or reduced N level (low N, 35% of normal nitrogen fertilization). Plants were continuously phenotyped during the growth period and at harvest (Table 123-124, below). The image analysis system include d a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the spikes and the following parameters were measured using digital imaging system and collected:

Number of tillering—all tillers were counted per plant at harvest (mean per plot).

Head number—At the end of the experiment, heads were harvested from each plot and were counted.

Total Grains weight per plot (gr.)—At the end of the experiment (plant ‘Heads’) heads from plots were collected, the heads were threshed and grains were weighted. In addition, the average grain weight per head was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by number of total heads per plot (based on plot).

Highest number of spikelets—The highest spikelet number per head was calculated per plant (mean per plot).

Mean number of spikelets—The mean spikelet number per head was calculated per plot.

Plant height—Each of the plants was measured for its height using measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to spike base of the longest spike at harvest.

Vegetative dry weight and spike yield—At the end of the experiment (50% of the spikes were dry) all spikes and vegetative material from plots were collected. The biomass and spikes weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided by the number of plants/plots.

Dry weight—total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours;

Spike yield per plant=total spike weight per plant (gr) after drying at 30° C. in oven for 48 hours. Spikelets weight (gr.)—The biomass and spikes weight of each plot was separated and measured per plot.

Average head weight—calculated by dividing spikelets weight with head number (gr.).

Harvest Index—The harvest index was calculated using Formula XV (described above).

Spikelets Index—The Spikelets index is calculated using Formula XXXI above.

Percent Number of heads with spikelets—The number of heads with more than one spikelet per plant were counted and the percent from all heads per plant was calculated.

Total dry mater per plot—Calculated as Vegetative portion above ground plus all the spikelet dry weight per plot.

1000 grain weight—At the end of the experiment all grains from all plots were collected and weighted and the weight of 1000 grains was calculated.

The following parameters were collected using digital imaging system:

At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the spikes and the following parameters were measured and collected:

(i) Average grain area (cm²)—A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

(ii) Average grain length, perimeter and width (cm)—A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths and width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

The image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

TABLE 122 Brachypodium correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID % Number of heads with spikelets (%) 1 1000 grain weight (gr.) 2 Average head weight (gr.) 3 Grain area (cm²) 5 Grain length (cm) 6 Grain Perimeter (cm) 4 Grain width (cm) 7 Grains weight per plant (gr.) 8 Grains weight per plot (gr.) 9 Harvest index 10 Heads per plant 11 Heads per plot 12 Highest number of spikelets per plot 13 Mean number of spikelets per plot 14 Number of heads with spikelets per plant 15 Plant height (cm) 17 Plant Vegetative DW (gr.) 16 Plants number 18 Spikelets DW per plant (gr.) 19 Spikelets weight (gr.) 20 Spikes index 21 Tillering (number) 22 Total dry mater per plant (gr.) 23 Total dry mater per plot (gr.) 24 Vegetative DW (gr.) 25 Provided are the Brachypodium correlated parameters. Correlation IDs 1-21 are identical to correlation IDs 26-46, respectively, and correlation IDs 23-25 are identical to correlation IDs 47-49, respectively.

Experimental Results

24 different Brachypodium accessions were grown and characterized for different parameters as described above. The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 123-125 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets and the average parameters (Table 126) was conducted. Follow, results were integrated to the database.

TABLE 123 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Brachypodium accessions under normal conditions Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 27.61 35.33 21.67 52.40 20.84 47.73 17.55 16.51 2 3.75 3.78 3.35 3.70 3.90 4.87 4.82 4.76 3 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.09 0.04 0.09 0.06 0.06 4 1.67 1.62 1.62 1.65 1.60 1.90 1.80 1.82 5 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.11 0.10 0.11 6 0.73 0.72 0.72 0.75 0.72 0.87 0.79 0.79 7 0.18 0.17 0.17 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.17 0.18 8 0.14 0.06 0.08 0.35 0.27 0.44 0.32 0.07 9 1.05 0.44 0.61 2.58 2.03 3.40 2.58 0.39 10 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.21 0.17 0.18 0.15 0.11 11 16.29 7.08 6.59 16.11 21.40 17.05 25.88 8.02 12 121.75 56.60 52.75 123.50 156.83 135.00 207.00 48.60 13 3.00 2.60 3.00 2.83 2.33 4.50 2.60 2.00 14 2.10 2.10 1.72 2.17 1.85 2.85 1.93 1.56 15 5.27 2.50 2.06 9.44 5.02 7.72 4.90 1.87 16 0.42 0.12 0.13 0.82 0.67 1.05 0.87 0.31 17 31.65 23.44 22.75 45.35 29.41 46.74 38.39 29.15 18 7.50 8.00 8.00 7.50 7.33 7.88 8.00 6.40 19 0.96 0.31 0.33 1.46 0.96 1.42 1.56 0.45 20 7.18 2.50 2.68 11.31 7.16 11.05 12.44 2.66 21 0.71 0.72 0.73 0.68 0.60 0.57 0.65 0.60 22 16.84 7.20 7.00 16.99 23.61 18.25 27.20 8.60 23 1.38 0.43 0.47 2.28 1.63 2.47 2.43 0.76 24 10.26 3.45 3.74 17.78 12.29 19.27 19.40 4.47 25 3.08 0.95 1.06 6.47 5.13 8.23 6.96 1.81 Correlation IDs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . . etc. refer to those described in Table 122 above [Brachypodium correlated parameters (vectors)].

TABLE 124 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in brachypodium accessions under normal conditions Eco- type/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 5.42 15.42 14.00 6.40 4.51 15.52 20.34 2 5.54 4.98 4.88 4.83 5.54 4.73 5.24 3 0.04 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 4 1.82 1.83 1.69 1.74 1.93 1.69 1.91 5 0.11 0.11 0.09 0.10 0.11 0.10 0.12 6 0.83 0.82 0.74 0.78 0.90 0.75 0.86 7 0.16 0.17 0.16 0.17 0.16 0.17 0.19 8 0.14 0.14 0.26 0.14 0.11 0.39 0.14 9 1.11 1.07 1.96 1.09 0.84 3.07 1.09 10 0.20 0.16 0.20 0.14 0.26 0.22 0.09 11 10.48 9.09 11.63 14.13 5.88 23.75 16.06 12 82.40 70.13 83.40 110.33 47.00 185.50 125.00 13 2.00 2.25 2.20 1.83 2.00 2.50 2.40 14 1.38 1.65 1.69 1.43 1.25 1.76 1.83 15 0.71 1.94 2.08 1.08 0.35 4.98 3.70 16 0.32 0.32 0.38 0.39 0.13 0.87 0.69 17 34.36 28.65 31.95 28.88 24.74 37.30 45.09 18 7.80 7.75 7.20 7.83 8.00 7.75 8.00 19 0.44 0.56 0.88 0.67 0.26 1.14 0.83 20 3.45 4.29 6.42 5.29 2.04 8.89 6.65 21 0.58 0.66 0.71 0.64 0.66 0.59 0.54 22 10.67 9.38 11.97 14.58 6.35 25.50 16.56 23 0.76 0.88 1.25 1.06 0.38 2.01 1.53 24 6.00 6.78 9.12 8.34 3.04 15.79 12.20 25 2.55 2.48 2.69 3.05 1.00 6.89 5.55 Correlation IDs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . . etc. refer to those described in Table 15.2 above [Brachypodium correlated parameters (vectors)].

TABLE 125 Measured parameters of correlation IDs in brachypodium accessions under normal conditions Eco- type/ Treat- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- ment 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1 8.11 53.21 55.41 47.81 42.81 59.01 34.92 2 4.96 4.00 3.84 4.26 5.99 3.76 4.34 3 0.06 0.10 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.06 4 1.71 1.81 1.68 1.75 1.87 1.68 1.66 5 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.12 0.09 0.09 6 0.74 0.84 0.75 0.80 0.84 0.76 0.74 7 0.17 0.15 0.17 0.14 0.18 0.15 0.16 8 0.13 0.37 0.08 0.49 0.31 0.30 0.20 9 1.07 2.99 0.50 3.52 2.41 1.92 1.47 10 0.18 0.09 0.07 0.16 0.18 0.09 0.11 11 9.74 22.19 11.89 24.32 13.25 25.54 19.22 12 80.75 177.50 81.50 172.80 98.60 177.00 143.17 13 2.00 3.50 3.50 3.80 2.80 3.17 2.83 14 1.42 2.71 2.41 2.61 2.12 2.79 2.15 15 0.89 12.58 7.59 12.13 6.35 15.36 7.15 16 0.34 1.72 0.44 1.32 0.48 1.73 0.63 17 22.39 55.04 31.40 45.34 40.20 58.82 39.18 18 8.25 8.00 6.50 7.00 7.60 6.83 7.33 19 0.59 2.27 0.92 1.91 1.09 2.25 1.26 20 4.92 18.15 6.25 13.49 8.35 15.55 9.42 21 0.68 0.56 0.69 0.59 0.70 0.57 0.66 22 10.53 27.15 12.38 26.30 13.56 29.09 20.79 23 0.93 3.99 1.36 3.23 1.57 3.98 1.89 24 7.76 31.94 9.21 22.78 12.04 27.67 14.14 25 2.84 13.80 2.96 9.28 3.70 12.12 4.72 Correlation IDs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . . etc. refer to those described in Table 122 above [Brachypodium correlated parameters (vectors)].

TABLE 126 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across brachypodium varieties Gene Name R P value Exp. set Correl. Set ID MGP6 0.72 8.12E−03 3 2 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal conditions across brachypodium varieties. P = p value.

Example 16 Production of Soybean (Glycine Max) Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with Yield Parameters Using 44K B. Soybean Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Soybean oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 42,000 Soybean genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with yield components or plant architecture related parameters or plant vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 29 different Glycine max varieties were analyzed and 26 varieties were further used for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test.

Correlation of Glycine max Genes' Expression Levels with Phenotypic Characteristics Across Ecotype

Experimental Procedures

29 Soybean varieties were grown in three repetitive plots in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Soybean seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal conditions (no irrigation, good organomic particles) which included high temperature about 82.38 (° F.), low temperature about 58.54 (° F.); total precipitation rainfall from May through September (from sowing until harvest) was about 16.97 inch.

In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with yield components or plant architecture related parameters or vigor related parameters, 26 different Soybean varieties (out of 29 varieties) were analyzed and used for gene expression analyses. Analysis was performed at two pre-determined time periods: at pod set (when the soybean pods are formed) and at harvest time (when the soybean pods are ready for harvest, with mature seeds).

TABLE 127 Soybean transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Apical meristem at vegetative stage under normal growth 1 condition Leaf at vegetative stage under normal growth condition 2 Leaf at flowering stage under normal growth condition 3 Leaf at pod setting stage under normal growth condition 4 Root at vegetative stage under normal growth condition 5 Root at flowering stage under normal growth condition 6 Root at pod setting stage under normal growth condition 7 Stem at vegetative stage under normal growth condition 8 Stem at pod setting stage under normal growth condition 9 Flower bud at flowering stage under normal growth condition 10 Pod (R3-R4) at pod setting stage under normal growth condition 11

RNA extraction—All 12 selected Soybean varieties were sample per treatment. Plant tissues [leaf, root, Stem, Pod, apical meristem, Flower buds] growing under normal conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. The collected data parameters were as follows:

Main branch base diameter [mm] at pod set—the diameter of the base of the main branch (based diameter) average of three plants per plot.

Fresh weight [gr./plant] at pod set]—total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) before drying at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Dry weight [gr./plant] at pod set—total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of nodes with pods on lateral branches [value/plant]—counting of nodes which contain pods in lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Number of lateral branches at pod set [value/plant]—counting number of lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total weight of lateral branches at pod set [gr./plant]—weight of all lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total weight of pods on main stem at pod set [gr./plant]—weight of all pods on main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of nodes on main stem [value/plant]—count of number of nodes on main stem starting from first node above ground, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 1 seed on lateral branches at pod set [value/plant]—count of the number of pods containing 1 seed in all lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 2 seeds on lateral branches at pod set [value/plant] —count of the number of pods containing 2 seeds in all lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 3 seeds on lateral branches at pod set [value/plant] —count of the number of pods containing 3 seeds in all lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 4 seeds on lateral branches at pod set [value/plant] —count of the number of pods containing 4 seeds in all lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 1 seed on main stem at pod set [value/plant]—count of the number of pods containing 1 seed in main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 2 seeds on main stem at pod set [value/plant]—count of the number of pods containing 2 seeds in main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 3 seeds on main stem at pod set [value/plant]—count of the number of pods containing 3 seeds in main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of pods with 4 seeds on main stem at pod set [value/plant]—count of the number of pods containing 4 seeds in main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of seeds per plant at pod set [value/plant]—count of number of seeds in lateral branches and main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of seeds on lateral branches at pod set [value/plant]—count of total number of seeds on lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Total number of seeds on main stem at pod set [value/plant]—count of total number of seeds on main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Plant height at pod set [cm/plant]—total length from above ground till the tip of the main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Plant height at harvest [cm/plant]—total length from above ground till the tip of the main stem at harvest, average of three plants per plot.

Total weight of pods on lateral branches at pod set [gr./plant]—weight of all pods on lateral branches at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Ratio of the number of pods per node on main stem at pod set—calculated in Formula XXIII (above), average of three plants per plot.

Ratio of total number of seeds in main stem to number of seeds on lateral branches—calculated in Formula XXIV above, average of three plants per plot.

Total weight of pods per plant at pod set [gr./plant]—weight of all pods on lateral branches and main stem at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Days till 50% flowering [days]—number of days till 50% flowering for each plot.

Days till 100% flowering [days]—number of days till 100% flowering for each plot.

Maturity [days]—measure as 95% of the pods in a plot have ripened (turned 100% brown). Delayed leaf drop and green stems are not considered in assigning maturity. Tests are observed 3 days per week, every other day, for maturity. The maturity date is the date that 95% of the pods have reached final color. Maturity is expressed in days after August 31 [according to the accepted definition of maturity in USA, Descriptor list for SOYBEAN, ars-grin (dot) gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/desclist (dot) pl?51].

Seed quality [ranked 1-5]—measure at harvest; a visual estimate based on several hundred seeds. Parameter is rated according to the following scores considering the amount and degree of wrinkling, defective coat (cracks), greenishness, and moldy or other pigment. Rating is “1”—very good, “2”—good, “3”—fair, “4”—poor, “5”—very poor.

Lodging [ranked 1-5]—is rated at maturity per plot according to the following scores: “1”—most plants in a plot are erected; “2”—all plants leaning slightly or a few plants down; “3”—all plants leaning moderately, or 25%-50% down; “4”—all plants leaning considerably, or 50%-80% down; “5”—most plants down. Note: intermediate score such as 1.5 are acceptable.

Seed size [gr.]—weight of 1000 seeds per plot normalized to 13% moisture, measure at harvest.

Total weight of seeds per plant [gr./plant]—calculated at harvest (per 2 inner rows of a trimmed plot) as weight in grams of cleaned seeds adjusted to 13% moisture and divided by the total number of plants in two inner rows of a trimmed plot.

Yield at harvest [bushels/hectare]—calculated at harvest (per 2 inner rows of a trimmed plot) as weight in grams of cleaned seeds, adjusted to 13% moisture, and then expressed as bushels per acre.

Average lateral branch seeds per pod [number]—Calculate number of seeds on lateral branches-at pod set and divide by the number of pods with seeds on lateral branches-at pod set.

Average main stem seeds per pod [number]—Calculate total number of seeds on main stem at pod set and divide by the number of pods with seeds on main stem at pod setting.

Main stem average internode length [cm]—Calculate plant height at pod set and divide by the total number of nodes on main stem at pod setting.

Total number of pods with seeds on main stem [number]—count all pods containing seeds on the main stem at pod setting.

Total number of pods with seeds on lateral branches [number]—count all pods containing seeds on the lateral branches at pod setting.

Total number of pods per plant at pod set [number]—count pods on main stem and lateral branches at pod setting.

TABLE 128 Soybean correlated parameters (vectors) Corre- lation Correlated parameter with ID 100 percent flowering (days) 1 50 percent flowering (days) 2 Base diameter at pod set (mm) 3 DW at pod set (gr) 4 Lodging (score 1-5) 5 Maturity (days) 6 Num of lateral branches (number) 7 Num of pods with 1 seed on main stem at pod set (number) 8 Num of pods with 2 seed on main stem at pod set (number) 9 Num of pods with 3 seed on main stem at pod set (number) 10 Num of pods with 4 seed on main stem at pod set (number) 11 Plant height at harvest (cm) 12 Plant height at pod set (cm) 13 Ratio number of pods per node on main stem (ratio) 14 Ratio num of seeds-main stem to lateral branches (ratio) 15 Seed quality (score 1-5) 16 1000 seed weight (gr) 17 Num of Seeds on lateral branches-at pod set 18 Total Number of Seeds on main stem at pod set (number) 19 Num of pods with 1 seed on lateral branch-pod set (number) 20 Num of pods with 2 seed on lateral branch-pod set (number) 21 Num pods with 3 seed on lateral branch-at pod set (number) 22 Num pods with 4 seed on lateral branch-at pod set (number) 23 Total number of nodes on main stem (number) 24 Num of nodes with pods on lateral branches-pod set (number) 25 Total number of seeds per plant (number) 26 Total weight of lateral branches at pod set (gr) 27 Weight of pods on lateral branches (gr)-at pod set 28 Total weight of pods on main stem at pod set (gt) 29 Total weight of pods per plant (gr/plant) 30 Total weight of seeds per plant (gr/plant) 31 fresh weight at pod set (gr) 32 yield at harvest (bushel/hectare) 33 Average lateral branch seeds per pod 34 Average main stem seeds per pod 35 Main stem average internode length 36 Num pods with seeds on lateral branches-at pod set (number) 37 Total number of pods per plant (number) 38 Total number of pods with seeds on main stem (number) 39 corrected Seed size (gr) 40

Experimental Results

29 different Soybean varieties lines were grown and characterized for 40 parameters as specified above. Tissues for expression analysis were sampled from a subset of 12 lines. The correlated parameters are described in Table 128 above. The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 129-134) and a subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Tables 135-136). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 129 Measured parameters in Soybean varieties (lines 1-6) Ecotype/ Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Line- Treatment 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 67.33 71.67 67.67 67.33 60.00 74.00 2 61.00 65.33 60.67 61.00 54.67 68.33 3 8.33 9.54 9.68 8.11 8.82 10.12 4 53.67 50.33 38.00 46.17 60.83 55.67 5 1.67 1.83 1.17 1.67 2.67 2.83 6 24.00 43.67 30.33 30.33 38.33 40.00 7 9.00 8.67 9.11 9.89 7.67 17.56 8 1.11 4.38 1.44 1.44 4.56 1.67 9 16.89 16.25 13.22 16.89 27.00 8.11 10 29.56 1.75 19.78 22.33 11.67 22.78 11 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.11 0.00 0.44 12 96.67 76.67 67.50 75.83 74.17 76.67 13 86.78 69.56 62.44 70.89 69.44 63.89 14 2.87 1.38 2.13 2.26 2.60 1.87 15 0.89 0.90 0.87 0.89 2.32 0.37 16 2.33 3.50 3.00 2.17 2.83 2.00 17 89.00 219.33 93.00 86.00 191.33 71.33 18 150.89 55.89 134.00 160.44 75.44 324.63 19 123.56 43.89 87.67 102.67 93.56 88.00 20 1.56 3.00 1.78 1.78 5.67 5.63 21 17.00 18.75 26.44 32.33 21.56 33.50 22 38.44 2.00 26.44 31.33 8.89 82.00 23 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.50 24 16.56 16.78 16.11 18.11 16.78 17.11 25 23.00 16.00 23.11 33.00 15.22 45.25 26 274.44 99.78 221.67 263.11 169.00 412.50 27 67.78 63.78 64.89 74.89 54.00 167.22 28 26.00 14.89 20.11 20.11 21.11 30.25 29 22.11 14.33 16.00 15.00 33.78 9.00 30 48.11 29.22 36.11 35.11 54.89 38.88 31 15.09 10.50 17.23 16.51 12.06 10.25 32 170.89 198.22 152.56 163.89 224.67 265.00 33 47.57 43.77 50.37 56.30 44.00 40.33 34 2.67 1.95 2.43 2.53 2.13 2.68 35 2.60 1.89 2.52 2.53 2.17 2.59 36 5.24 4.15 3.91 3.92 4.15 3.74 37 57.00 28.56 54.67 65.44 36.11 122.63 38 104.56 51.67 89.22 106.22 79.33 155.63 39 47.56 23.11 34.56 40.78 43.22 33.00 40 89.00 93.00 86.00 71.33

TABLE 130 Measured parameters in Soybean varieties (lines 7-12) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 1 73.00 72.33 68.67 73.67 68.00 70.67 2 66.50 65.67 62.33 67.67 61.67 64.33 3 8.46 8.09 8.26 7.73 8.16 7.89 4 48.00 52.00 44.17 52.67 56.00 47.50 5 2.67 2.50 1.83 3.50 3.33 1.50 6 41.00 38.33 31.00 39.00 27.33 32.67 7 11.67 12.11 8.00 9.11 6.78 10.00 8 4.00 4.33 2.11 1.89 3.44 1.22 9 21.33 17.67 20.33 16.11 28.11 16.56 10 11.11 28.22 24.11 36.44 39.67 32.33 11 0.00 0.56 0.00 3.89 0.00 0.00 12 101.67 98.33 75.83 116.67 76.67 71.67 13 89.78 82.11 70.56 101.67 79.56 67.22 14 1.98 2.71 2.78 2.75 3.70 2.84 15 3.90 0.78 1.18 1.98 1.03 0.83 16 3.50 2.50 2.17 2.33 2.17 2.17 17 88.00 75.00 80.67 75.67 76.33 77.33 18 46.88 176.22 143.00 105.44 184.33 187.33 19 80.00 126.56 115.11 159.00 178.67 131.33 20 2.88 3.00 1.25 2.67 1.78 3.00 21 8.50 22.78 21.75 10.67 23.78 25.67 22 9.00 42.11 32.75 25.67 45.00 44.33 23 0.00 0.33 0.00 1.11 0.00 0.00 24 18.78 18.89 16.78 21.11 19.33 20.78 25 8.25 25.44 21.88 16.33 22.56 24.22 26 136.00 302.78 260.50 264.44 363.00 318.67 27 45.44 83.22 64.33 52.00 76.89 67.00 28 4.13 20.11 17.00 9.22 28.11 22.56 29 9.03 16.00 15.89 14.56 30.44 18.00 30 14.25 36.11 32.75 23.78 58.56 40.56 31 7.30 11.38 15.68 10.83 12.98 15.16 32 160.67 196.33 155.33 178.11 204.44 164.22 33 34.23 44.27 53.67 42.47 43.60 52.20 34 2.12 2.58 2.58 2.67 2.62 2.58 35 2.22 2.49 2.47 2.71 2.51 2.61 36 4.80 4.36 4.20 4.82 4.12 3.83 37 20.38 68.22 55.75 40.11 70.56 73.00 38 61.00 119.00 103.25 98.44 141.78 123.11 39 36.44 50.78 43.63 58.33 71.22 50.11 40 88.00 75.00 80.67 75.67 76.33 77.33

TABLE 131 Measured parameters in Soybean varieties (lines 1-8) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 67.33 67.33 67.33 70.00 68.00 71.67 67.33 67.67 3 8.27 8.00 8.33 7.16 7.78 9.54 8.13 9.68 4 35.83 51.67 53.67 34.67 47.50 50.33 53.50 38.00 5 2.00 2.00 1.67 1.67 1.17 1.83 1.67 1.17 6 27.67 27.67 24.00 30.33 31.33 43.67 27.00 30.33 7 5.11 8.44 9.00 7.00 8.67 8.67 7.11 9.11 8 0.56 2.44 1.11 2.56 0.89 4.38 1.89 1.44 9 16.44 17.22 16.89 25.33 10.44 16.25 20.00 13.22 10 19.33 23.33 29.56 23.33 30.56 1.75 23.56 19.78 11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.22 0.00 0.00 0.11 12 69.17 85.00 96.67 75.83 73.33 76.67 75.00 67.50 13 66.78 79.44 86.78 64.11 68.00 69.56 74.11 62.44 14 2.34 2.67 2.87 2.87 2.51 1.38 2.65 2.13 15 1.28 1.13 0.89 1.35 0.86 0.90 1.43 0.87 16 3.00 2.17 2.33 2.33 2.50 3.50 2.67 3.00 17 126.00 116.00 89.00 75.67 84.33 219.33 119.00 93.00 18 92.78 124.00 150.89 122.78 174.89 55.89 112.67 134.00 19 91.44 106.89 123.56 123.22 122.33 43.89 112.56 87.67 20 0.78 0.89 1.56 0.78 1.00 3.00 1.22 1.78 21 15.33 17.56 17.00 23.33 18.11 18.75 21.22 26.44 22 20.44 29.33 38.44 25.11 43.22 2.00 23.00 26.44 23 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 24 15.56 16.11 16.56 17.78 17.67 16.78 17.33 16.11 25 13.89 20.89 23.00 22.44 26.11 16.00 21.56 23.11 26 184.22 230.89 274.44 246.00 297.22 99.78 225.22 221.67 27 57.78 66.67 67.78 57.00 73.67 63.78 64.44 64.89 28 23.00 25.00 26.00 18.33 23.22 14.89 27.89 20.11 29 22.56 22.22 22.11 17.89 17.89 14.33 23.78 16.00 30 45.56 47.22 48.11 36.22 41.11 29.22 51.67 36.11 31 21.35 14.70 15.09 13.44 16.60 10.50 16.03 17.23 32 158.89 185.78 170.89 146.78 172.78 198.22 166.44 152.56 33 55.53 50.33 47.57 46.83 55.87 43.77 51.67 50.37 34 2.53 2.58 2.67 2.51 2.74 1.95 2.46 2.43 35 2.52 2.49 2.60 2.36 2.77 1.89 2.50 2.52 36 4.29 4.93 5.24 3.61 3.85 4.15 4.29 3.91 37 36.56 47.78 57.00 49.22 64.33 28.56 45.44 54.67 38 72.89 90.78 104.56 100.44 108.44 51.67 90.89 89.22 39 36.33 43.00 47.56 51.22 44.11 23.11 45.44 34.56

TABLE 132 Measured parameters in Soybean varieties (lines 9-16) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 Line-16 1 71.67 67.33 67.00 69.67 60.00 70.67 71.67 71.67 3 8.41 8.11 7.54 7.83 8.82 8.10 8.72 9.54 4 45.83 46.17 38.67 50.67 60.83 44.33 52.33 54.50 5 1.83 1.67 1.17 2.67 2.67 1.50 3.00 1.83 6 35.33 30.33 28.00 41.00 38.33 31.00 36.00 38.67 7 8.67 9.89 5.33 5.00 7.67 4.78 7.78 8.78 8 2.33 1.44 1.67 1.67 4.56 2.67 4.14 1.89 9 22.33 16.89 17.00 19.22 27.00 32.89 18.71 15.11 10 25.44 22.33 31.89 10.00 11.67 27.89 31.43 41.89 11 0.11 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.71 0.44 12 75.00 75.83 66.67 115.83 74.17 72.50 83.33 76.67 13 69.67 70.89 62.33 94.44 69.44 66.78 75.44 68.56 14 2.77 2.26 2.76 1.43 2.60 3.32 3.19 3.17 15 1.38 0.89 1.41 2.40 2.32 1.54 0.80 1.21 16 2.00 2.17 2.00 3.00 2.83 2.17 2.00 2.33 17 84.67 86.00 75.67 169.33 191.33 86.67 85.67 87.67 18 171.11 160.44 139.67 49.44 75.44 112.33 204.67 180.78 19 123.78 102.67 131.33 70.11 93.56 152.11 140.11 159.56 20 2.78 1.78 0.89 0.33 5.67 1.56 5.13 0.67 21 34.44 32.33 19.89 12.56 21.56 21.22 29.63 16.67 22 33.00 31.33 33.00 8.00 8.89 22.78 40.25 48.78 23 0.111 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.750 0.111 24 18.00 18.11 18.33 21.56 16.78 19.11 17.33 18.78 25 26.33 33.00 21.33 14.38 15.22 18.56 30.44 28.00 26 294.89 263.11 271.00 119.56 169.00 264.44 344.78 340.33 27 80.33 74.89 58.33 55.25 54.00 52.44 105.00 67.00 28 23.00 20.11 19.33 12.00 21.11 15.33 23.78 20.67 29 18.00 15.00 19.63 15.41 33.78 21.56 16.22 26.56 30 41.00 35.11 39.88 27.41 54.89 36.89 40.00 47.22 31 14.64 16.51 17.12 10.52 12.06 15.80 12.64 12.58 32 175.67 163.89 136.56 191.67 224.67 155.33 216.22 192.11 33 52.93 56.30 55.07 40.17 44.00 52.37 46.90 48.57 34 2.43 2.53 2.60 2.34 2.13 2.48 2.47 2.70 35 2.48 2.53 2.60 2.26 2.17 2.40 2.52 2.68 36 3.90 3.92 3.41 4.38 4.15 3.50 4.36 3.67 37 70.33 65.44 53.78 20.89 36.11 45.56 83.11 66.22 38 120.56 106.22 104.33 51.78 79.33 109.00 138.89 125.56 39 50.22 40.78 50.56 30.89 43.22 63.44 55.78 59.33

TABLE 133 Measured parameters in Soybean varieties (lines 17-23) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-17 Line-18 Line-19 Line-20 Line-21 Line-22 Line-23 1 74.00 73.00 72.33 73.33 67.33 68.67 69.33 3 10.12 8.46 8.09 8.11 7.09 8.26 7.57 4 55.67 48.00 52.00 45.17 57.00 44.17 43.33 5 2.83 2.67 2.50 1.67 2.50 1.83 2.00 6 40.00 41.00 38.33 37.00 24.67 31.00 37.67 7 17.56 11.67 12.11 10.44 8.00 8.00 9.00 8 1.67 4.00 4.33 1.89 1.78 2.11 0.44 9 8.11 21.33 17.67 20.00 17.44 20.33 11.22 10 22.78 11.11 28.22 27.89 25.11 24.11 25.22 11 0.44 0.00 0.56 0.56 0.44 0.00 0.11 12 76.67 101.67 98.33 89.17 93.33 75.83 78.33 13 63.89 89.78 82.11 81.11 85.67 70.56 70.78 14 1.87 1.98 2.71 2.58 2.45 2.78 2.15 15 0.37 3.90 0.78 1.36 0.92 1.18 0.82 16 2.00 3.50 2.50 2.00 2.50 2.17 2.17 17 71.33 88.00 75.00 78.67 91.67 80.67 80.67 18 324.63 46.88 176.22 121.56 151.56 143.00 144.00 19 88.00 80.00 126.56 127.78 113.78 115.11 99.00 20 5.63 2.88 3.00 2.33 1.67 1.25 0.89 21 33.50 8.50 22.78 21.89 22.89 21.75 13.22 22 82.00 9.00 42.11 24.56 34.11 32.75 38.89 23 1.500 0.000 0.333 0.444 0.444 0.000 0.000 24 17.11 18.78 18.89 19.44 19.89 16.78 17.00 25 45.25 8.25 25.44 22.67 23.00 21.88 23.78 26 412.50 136.00 302.78 249.33 265.33 260.50 243.00 27 167.22 45.44 83.22 63.67 69.67 64.33 76.22 28 30.25 4.13 20.11 14.89 24.33 17.00 19.22 29 9.00 9.03 16.00 14.57 19.78 15.89 14.67 30 38.88 14.25 36.11 29.46 44.11 32.75 33.89 31 10.25 7.30 11.38 13.86 14.63 15.68 14.77 32 265.00 160.67 196.33 166.33 171.44 155.33 175.78 33 40.33 34.23 44.27 46.23 49.70 53.67 52.53 34 2.68 2.12 2.58 2.48 2.61 2.58 2.70 35 2.59 2.22 2.49 2.53 2.53 2.47 2.67 36 3.74 4.80 4.36 4.18 4.89 4.20 4.16 37 122.63 20.38 68.22 49.22 59.11 55.75 53.00 38 155.63 61.00 119.00 99.56 103.89 103.25 90.00 39 33.00 36.44 50.78 50.33 44.78 46.56 37.00

TABLE 134 Measured parameters in Soybean varieties (lines 24-29) Eco- type/ Treat- ment Line-24 Line-25 Line-26 Line-27 Line-28 Line-29 1 73.67 68.00 68.67 68.00 67.00 70.67 3 7.73 8.16 8.18 6.88 7.82 7.89 4 52.67 56.00 56.17 43.50 46.00 47.50 5 3.50 3.33 1.83 1.50 2.33 1.50 6 39.00 27.33 27.67 27.33 36.33 32.67 7 9.11 6.78 7.11 4.33 9.11 10.00 8 1.89 3.44 3.22 1.67 3.33 1.22 9 16.11 28.11 24.67 14.67 14.33 16.56 10 36.44 39.67 35.78 31.67 37.56 32.33 11 3.89 0.00 0.00 0.78 0.78 0.00 12 116.67 76.67 85.00 78.33 79.17 71.67 13 101.67 79.56 77.44 73.67 73.67 67.22 14 2.75 3.70 3.58 3.06 3.34 2.84 15 1.98 1.03 1.48 1.82 1.35 0.83 16 2.33 2.17 2.17 2.33 2.17 2.17 17 75.67 76.33 88.00 93.33 79.00 77.33 18 105.44 184.33 166.22 92.33 143.78 187.33 19 159.00 178.67 159.89 129.11 147.78 131.33 20 2.67 1.78 1.00 0.56 2.11 3.00 21 10.67 23.78 26.78 10.22 15.89 25.67 22 25.67 45.00 37.22 23.78 35.89 44.33 23 1.111 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.556 0.000 24 21.11 19.33 17.78 15.89 16.67 20.78 25 16.33 22.56 19.89 11.78 16.00 24.22 26 264.44 363.00 326.11 221.44 291.56 318.67 27 52.00 76.89 74.78 35.33 52.11 67.00 28 9.22 28.11 24.22 14.33 15.13 22.56 29 14.56 30.44 24.22 26.36 21.44 18.00 30 23.78 58.56 48.44 40.69 35.75 40.56 31 10.83 12.98 16.38 16.64 15.82 15.16 32 178.11 204.44 205.89 144.67 176.44 164.22 33 42.47 43.60 51.90 52.50 46.43 52.20 34 2.67 2.62 2.37 2.67 2.62 2.58 35 2.71 2.51 2.53 2.64 2.65 2.61 36 4.82 4.12 4.36 4.64 4.47 3.57 37 40.11 70.56 71.67 34.56 54.44 73.00 38 98.44 141.78 135.33 83.33 110.44 123.11 39 58.33 71.22 63.67 48.78 56.00 50.11

TABLE 135 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across 26 soybean varieties Gene Corr. Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LYD868 0.73 1.92E−05 3 31 LYD874 0.7 4.27E−05 10 10 LYD876 0.7 6.67E−05 6 31 LYD877 0.72 2.37E−05 10 10 LYD886 0.71 3.92E−05 10 31 LYD888 0.54 4.10E−03 3 14 LYD888 0.58 2.00E−03 3 39 LYD874 0.72 2.21E−05 10 19 LYD874 0.7 4.37E−05 10 39 LYD877 0.76 3.69E−06 10 19 LYD877 0.74 1.06E−05 10 39 LYD888 0.54 4.40E−03 3 19 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, and plant architecture (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal conditions across soybean varieties. P = p value.

TABLE 136 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across 12 soybean varieties Corr. Gene Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP104 0.76 4.05E−03 11 10 LGP104 0.87 2.71E−04 11 14 LGP104 0.79 2.33E−03 11 39 LGP105 0.73 1.70E−02 5 20 LGP105 0.75 3.22E−02 9 22 LGP105 0.76 2.96E−02 9 21 LGP105 0.94 5.61E−04 9 23 LGP105 0.79 1.96E−02 9 7 LGP105 0.82 1.33E−02 9 3 LGP105 0.85 7.65E−03 9 20 LGP105 0.72 4.60E−02 9 38 LGP109 0.77 8.57E−03 5 3 LGP109 0.82 3.82E−03 5 17 LGP109 0.88 3.86E−03 9 33 LGP78 0.83 3.10E−03 7 20 LGP78 0.74 3.70E−02 9 10 LGP78 0.75 3.38E−02 9 33 LGP78 0.71 9.99E−03 10 7 LGP78 0.72 4.42E−02 9 34 LGP78 0.71 5.00E−02 5 40 LGP79 0.74 1.51E−02 8 33 LGP79 0.77 2.41E−02 9 30 LGP79 0.72 4.62E−02 9 26 LGP79 0.81 4.69E−03 7 35 LGP79 0.72 4.34E−02 9 34 LGP81 0.72 4.56E−02 9 10 LGP81 0.71 4.97E−02 9 33 LGP81 0.72 4.50E−02 9 29 LGP81 0.71 1.02E−02 11 39 LGP81 0.74 3.44E−02 5 40 LYD860 0.71 9.06E−03 1 20 LYD860 0.74 1.54E−02 10 40 LYD861 0.82 3.39E−03 8 23 LYD861 0.73 4.04E−02 9 24 LYD863 0.72 1.88E−02 7 31 LYD863 0.80 1.79E−02 9 10 LYD863 0.86 5.61E−03 9 33 LYD863 0.84 8.27E−03 9 30 LYD863 0.85 7.84E−03 9 28 LYD863 0.71 1.02E−02 10 22 LYD863 0.78 2.29E−02 9 35 LYD863 0.72 4.24E−02 9 38 LYD863 0.76 4.25E−03 10 34 LYD864 0.79 6.93E−03 8 32 LYD864 0.90 2.27E−03 9 17 LYD864 0.78 2.98E−03 10 18 LYD864 0.85 4.87E−04 10 27 LYD864 0.83 8.46E−04 10 25 LYD865 0.85 1.78E−03 5 4 LYD865 0.78 2.36E−02 9 2 LYD865 0.73 3.89E−02 9 27 LYD865 0.74 3.57E−02 9 1 LYD865 0.75 3.11E−02 9 20 LYD865 0.89 8.77E−05 1 17 LYD865 0.83 3.25E−03 1 40 LYD866 0.71 2.06E−02 8 23 LYD866 0.71 2.07E−02 8 7 LYD866 0.87 1.06E−03 8 3 LYD866 0.81 1.30E−03 4 32 LYD866 0.77 3.73E−03 1 7 LYD866 0.82 1.15E−03 10 18 LYD866 0.75 4.84E−03 10 25 LYD866 0.83 9.30E−04 10 37 LYD867 0.74 1.52E−02 8 22 LYD867 0.77 8.66E−03 8 23 LYD867 0.79 1.89E−02 9 31 LYD867 0.71 2.07E−02 8 37 LYD868 0.75 4.80E−03 11 2 LYD868 0.71 9.19E−03 11 12 LYD868 0.72 1.86E−02 5 4 LYD868 0.84 2.13E−03 5 17 LYD868 0.92 2.00E−04 8 23 LYD868 0.72 4.48E−02 9 14 LYD868 0.73 7.60E−03 4 24 LYD868 0.74 5.97E−03 10 31 LYD869 0.72 1.97E−02 5 27 LYD869 0.76 1.02E−02 8 17 LYD869 0.76 3.03E−02 9 36 LYD869 0.84 1.74E−02 9 40 LYD870 0.74 1.38E−02 7 20 LYD870 0.76 1.08E−02 8 32 LYD870 0.81 4.62E−03 8 27 LYD870 0.74 1.39E−02 8 25 LYD870 0.73 4.01E−02 9 31 LYD870 0.86 5.80E−03 9 14 LYD870 0.75 5.35E−03 1 27 LYD870 0.75 5.05E−03 1 26 LYD870 0.76 4.35E−03 1 38 LYD871 0.86 1.33E−03 5 10 LYD871 0.78 8.01E−03 5 26 LYD871 0.71 4.82E−02 9 3 LYD871 0.79 2.40E−03 10 19 LYD871 0.71 2.04E−02 5 39 LYD871 0.75 1.25E−02 5 38 LYD871 0.72 8.49E−03 10 34 LYD873 0.79 6.81E−03 7 31 LYD873 0.78 7.86E−03 8 23 LYD873 0.82 1.28E−02 9 29 LYD873 0.73 7.62E−03 4 22 LYD873 0.85 4.98E−04 10 23 LYD873 0.75 4.84E−03 4 35 LYD874 0.79 1.90E−02 9 31 LYD874 0.73 4.01E−02 9 19 LYD874 0.70 1.05E−02 1 14 LYD874 0.79 2.25E−03 10 24 LYD874 0.72 8.28E−03 10 39 LYD876 0.75 5.07E−03 11 10 LYD876 0.78 2.82E−03 11 14 LYD876 0.84 7.08E−04 11 27 LYD876 0.79 2.08E−03 11 20 LYD876 0.90 4.36E−04 5 10 LYD876 0.76 1.04E−02 5 14 LYD876 0.77 9.56E−03 8 32 LYD876 0.73 4.11E−02 9 15 LYD876 0.75 3.07E−02 9 13 LYD876 0.73 3.90E−02 9 7 LYD876 0.71 1.54E−02 2 19 LYD876 0.80 1.85E−03 4 32 LYD876 0.88 1.81E−04 4 20 LYD876 0.73 1.58E−02 5 34 LYD876 0.81 4.55E−03 5 35 LYD876 0.72 1.22E−02 2 39 LYD876 0.85 1.66E−02 9 40 LYD877 0.85 7.81E−03 9 15 LYD877 0.79 2.23E−03 10 24 LYD878 0.77 2.53E−02 7 40 LYD879 0.73 1.61E−02 7 21 LYD879 0.74 6.06E−03 10 22 LYD879 0.73 1.66E−02 8 39 LYD880 0.75 1.29E−02 5 11 LYD880 0.86 1.56E−03 8 32 LYD880 0.77 9.08E−03 8 27 LYD880 0.83 2.92E−03 8 20 LYD880 0.87 5.43E−03 9 3 LYD880 0.85 4.65E−04 1 27 LYD881 0.73 1.57E−02 7 20 LYD881 0.82 1.18E−02 9 18 LYD881 0.76 2.81E−02 9 32 LYD881 0.82 1.31E−02 9 27 LYD881 0.74 3.54E−02 9 26 LYD881 0.84 8.99E−03 9 37 LYD882 0.74 1.49E−02 5 3 LYD882 0.75 3.32E−02 9 31 LYD882 0.79 2.04E−03 1 27 LYD882 0.76 4.33E−03 1 28 LYD882 0.71 2.18E−02 8 38 LYD882 0.71 2.09E−02 11 40 LYD883 0.71 2.18E−02 7 28 LYD883 0.71 4.91E−02 9 31 LYD883 0.74 3.71E−02 9 19 LYD883 0.73 7.21E−03 10 22 LYD883 0.71 1.03E−02 10 1 LYD884 0.81 4.53E−03 8 15 LYD886 0.74 1.43E−02 5 20 LYD886 0.78 8.44E−03 8 21 LYD886 0.89 6.27E−04 8 27 LYD886 0.83 3.13E−03 8 25 LYD886 0.83 2.99E−03 8 20 LYD886 0.75 8.42E−03 2 32 LYD886 0.78 4.84E−03 2 17 LYD886 0.80 1.87E−03 1 27 LYD886 0.73 6.67E−03 10 33 LYD887 0.87 1.15E−03 7 15 LYD887 0.72 1.78E−02 5 19 LYD887 0.90 3.83E−04 8 17 LYD887 0.81 4.54E−03 5 39 LYD876 0.73 6.90E−03 11 39 LYD890 0.90 4.12E−04 7 15 LYD890 0.80 1.83E−03 10 22 LYD890 0.77 3.18E−03 10 25 LYD890 0.80 1.79E−03 10 37 LYD891 0.91 2.57E−04 7 13 LYD891 0.75 1.28E−02 5 3 LYD891 0.85 1.70E−03 8 3 LYD891 0.78 2.12E−02 9 15 LYD891 0.80 3.10E−03 2 17 LYD891 0.76 4.02E−03 1 27 LYD891 0.77 3.18E−03 10 13 LYD891 0.70 2.40E−02 7 36 LYD891 0.76 4.00E−03 4 39 LYD891 0.93 7.68E−04 5 40 LYD867 0.79 7.10E−03 8 35 MGP4 0.86 1.24E−03 8 11 MGP4 0.76 2.77E−02 9 10 MGP4 0.80 1.68E−02 9 30 MGP4 0.84 9.56E−03 9 14 MGP4 0.80 1.63E−03 4 15 LGP104 0.82 1.10E−03 11 19 LGP104 0.72 4.48E−02 9 24 LYD879 0.74 6.39E−03 10 37 LGP105 0.75 1.32E−02 8 20 LGP105 0.75 3.08E−02 9 18 LGP105 0.88 4.16E−03 9 32 LGP105 0.95 3.31E−04 9 27 LGP105 0.88 3.99E−03 9 25 LGP105 0.71 4.83E−02 9 26 LGP105 0.86 3.28E−04 4 17 LYD863 0.78 2.69E−03 10 35 LGP109 0.79 6.08E−03 5 20 LGP109 0.89 2.89E−03 9 31 LGP78 0.71 2.26E−02 7 3 LGP78 0.74 1.41E−02 8 31 LGP78 0.80 1.63E−02 9 31 LGP78 0.72 8.04E−03 10 10 LGP79 0.73 1.55E−02 8 31 MGP4 0.72 1.83E−02 8 35 LGP78 0.85 1.74E−03 1 40 LGP79 0.71 4.99E−02 9 10 LGP79 0.75 3.35E−02 9 28 LGP79 0.73 7.58E−03 10 33 LYD863 0.87 5.39E−03 9 34 LYD866 0.73 6.85E−03 10 38 LGP81 0.88 3.91E−03 9 31 LGP81 0.77 2.60E−02 9 14 LYD860 0.71 5.02E−02 9 4 LYD871 0.76 1.12E−02 5 34 LGP81 0.82 3.75E−03 1 40 LYD860 0.75 4.64E−03 10 31 LYD861 0.75 3.25E−02 7 40 LYD861 0.75 1.33E−02 8 27 LYD861 0.72 8.53E−03 10 33 LYD863 0.89 3.09E−03 9 31 LYD863 0.71 4.94E−02 9 21 LYD863 0.71 5.00E−02 9 14 LYD863 0.73 4.05E−02 9 26 LYD864 0.73 1.58E−02 5 9 LYD873 0.79 2.16E−03 4 34 LYD871 0.73 1.56E−02 5 35 LYD886 0.77 9.58E−03 8 37 LYD864 0.70 2.40E−02 8 20 LYD864 0.73 7.31E−03 10 22 LYD864 0.72 8.55E−03 10 21 LYD864 0.75 4.58E−03 10 7 LYD865 0.82 3.48E−03 5 32 LYD865 0.80 5.85E−03 8 17 LYD865 0.73 4.14E−02 9 23 LYD865 0.87 4.56E−03 9 7 LYD865 0.81 1.44E−02 9 3 LYD865 0.81 1.50E−03 1 16 LYD866 0.86 1.37E−03 8 32 LYD867 0.83 1.10E−02 4 40 LYD866 0.87 1.11E−03 8 27 LYD866 0.74 1.37E−02 8 25 LYD866 0.72 1.86E−02 8 20 LYD866 0.74 5.54E−03 1 27 LYD866 0.78 2.63E−03 10 22 LYD866 0.76 4.39E−03 10 27 LYD866 0.73 7.58E−03 10 26 LYD881 0.76 2.70E−02 9 38 LYD867 0.73 1.75E−02 8 18 LYD867 0.71 2.19E−02 8 26 LYD867 0.82 1.37E−02 9 33 LGP78 0.70 5.16E−02 9 35 LYD868 0.74 5.66E−03 11 13 LYD868 0.75 4.54E−03 11 1 LYD868 0.71 2.04E−02 5 3 LYD868 0.75 1.24E−02 8 11 LYD868 0.82 1.33E−02 9 9 LYD868 0.91 1.91E−03 9 29 LYD868 0.80 1.97E−03 1 11 LYD868 0.82 1.16E−03 10 33 LYD869 0.76 1.07E−02 8 20 LYD870 0.77 9.07E−03 7 4 LYD889 0.78 2.69E−03 1 39 LYD871 0.73 1.72E−02 11 40 LYD870 0.74 1.45E−02 8 21 LYD870 0.87 1.15E−03 8 23 LYD870 0.77 8.55E−03 8 7 LYD870 0.78 8.05E−03 8 20 LYD870 0.80 1.64E−02 9 19 LYD870 0.78 2.21E−02 9 29 LYD870 0.73 6.55E−03 1 25 LYD871 0.84 2.42E−03 7 4 LYD871 0.72 8.12E−03 10 35 LYD871 0.79 7.08E−03 5 19 LYD871 0.73 4.16E−02 9 33 LYD871 0.84 6.05E−04 10 10 LYD872 0.71 1.02E−02 10 33 LGP78 0.72 8.75E−03 10 35 LYD876 0.84 9.17E−03 9 36 LYD876 0.87 1.02E−03 5 39 LYD873 0.77 9.39E−03 7 33 LYD873 0.75 3.04E−02 9 9 LYD873 0.70 1.11E−02 4 10 LYD873 0.73 6.89E−03 4 26 LYD874 0.73 1.58E−02 5 15 LYD863 0.70 2.28E−02 7 34 LYD874 0.80 1.81E−02 9 33 LYD874 0.77 2.44E−02 9 14 LYD874 0.74 6.44E−03 10 10 LYD874 0.75 5.21E−03 10 19 LYD877 0.78 3.02E−03 10 39 LYD876 0.77 3.62E−03 11 19 LYD876 0.72 8.52E−03 11 23 LYD876 0.71 1.02E−02 11 25 LYD876 0.85 2.06E−03 5 15 LYD876 0.91 2.44E−04 5 19 LYD876 0.79 6.36E−03 5 23 LYD876 0.96 9.16E−06 8 3 LYD876 0.72 4.20E−02 9 16 LYD876 0.81 1.58E−02 9 12 LYD876 0.84 8.87E−03 9 17 LYD876 0.82 1.24E−03 4 15 LYD876 0.71 9.23E−03 4 4 LYD876 0.71 9.67E−03 1 3 LYD891 0.72 1.91E−02 5 36 LYD870 0.80 1.65E−02 9 39 MGP4 0.75 3.16E−02 9 39 LYD877 0.81 1.50E−02 8 40 LYD877 0.80 2.00E−03 10 10 LYD877 0.81 1.39E−03 10 19 LYD878 0.77 4.17E−02 9 40 LYD879 0.87 4.72E−03 9 17 LYD879 0.74 5.61E−03 10 18 LYD889 0.86 1.41E−03 8 37 LYD880 0.88 8.00E−04 5 23 LYD880 0.76 1.00E−02 8 23 LYD880 0.73 1.70E−02 8 3 LYD880 0.79 1.94E−02 9 6 LYD880 0.76 3.82E−03 1 32 LYD880 0.80 1.98E−03 1 3 LYD881 0.78 2.37E−02 9 22 LYD881 0.89 3.24E−03 9 21 LYD881 0.71 4.87E−02 9 23 LYD881 0.81 1.38E−02 9 25 LYD881 0.72 8.57E−03 10 33 LYD890 0.76 4.26E−03 10 38 LYD882 0.72 1.93E−02 8 26 LYD882 0.77 2.59E−02 9 33 LYD882 0.80 1.90E−03 1 3 LYD882 0.70 1.06E−02 10 29 LGP105 0.78 2.31E−02 9 37 LYD884 0.71 4.91E−02 8 40 LYD883 0.71 4.99E−02 9 10 LYD883 0.77 2.62E−02 9 33 LYD883 0.76 2.79E−02 9 14 LYD883 0.73 6.58E−03 10 2 LYD884 0.72 1.89E−02 7 20 LYD886 0.72 7.67E−03 11 27 LYD886 0.74 1.51E−02 8 18 LYD886 0.88 9.14E−04 8 32 LYD886 0.75 1.29E−02 8 7 LYD886 0.82 4.07E−03 8 3 LYD886 0.71 4.63E−02 9 31 LYD886 0.78 4.86E−03 2 20 LYD886 0.85 4.67E−04 1 32 LYD886 0.73 7.36E−03 10 31 LYD886 0.72 8.68E−03 10 21 LYD887 0.77 9.35E−03 5 9 LYD887 0.80 5.65E−03 5 14 LYD889 0.78 7.86E−03 5 6 LYD891 0.70 1.05E−02 1 37 LYD890 0.87 4.56E−03 9 15 LYD890 0.81 1.48E−03 10 18 LYD890 0.77 3.27E−03 10 26 LYD873 0.72 4.22E−02 9 39 LYD891 0.92 1.76E−04 7 12 LYD891 0.75 1.32E−02 8 32 LYD891 0.74 1.43E−02 8 20 LYD891 0.78 2.37E−02 9 3 LYD891 0.73 7.12E−03 4 19 LYD891 0.74 6.21E−03 10 21 LYD933 0.70 2.35E−02 7 31 LYD864 0.80 1.92E−03 10 37 LGP79 0.71 4.95E−02 9 38 LYD891 0.71 4.75E−02 8 40 MGP4 0.73 1.59E−02 8 23 MGP4 0.79 1.93E−02 9 31 MGP4 0.78 2.27E−02 9 19 MGP4 0.86 6.22E−03 9 29 LGP79 0.82 3.81E−03 7 34 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, and plant architecture (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal conditions across soybean varieties. P = p value.

Example 17 Production of Tomato Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis Using 44K Tomato Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between NUE related phenotypes and gene expression, the present inventors utilized a Tomato oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 44,000 Tomato genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with NUE, ABST, yield components or vigor related parameters various plant characteristics of 18 different Tomato varieties were analyzed. Among them, 10 varieties encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Correlation of Tomato Varieties Across Ecotypes Grown Under Low Nitrogen, Drought and Regular Growth Conditions

Experimental Procedures:

10 Tomato varieties were grown in 3 repetitive blocks, each containing 6 plants per plot were grown at net house. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows:

1. Regular growth conditions: Tomato varieties were grown under normal conditions: 4-6 Liters/m² of water per day and fertilized with NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium at a ratio 6:6:6, respectively) as recommended in protocols for commercial tomato production.

2. Low Nitrogen fertilization conditions: Tomato varieties were grown under normal conditions (4-6 Liters/m² per day and fertilized with NPK as recommended in protocols for commercial tomato production) until flower stage. At this time, Nitrogen fertilization was stopped.

3. Drought stress: Tomato variety was grown under normal conditions (4-6 Liters/m² per day) until flower stage. At this time, irrigation was reduced to 50% compared to normal conditions.

Plants were phenotyped on a daily basis following the standard descriptor of tomato (Table 138). Harvest was conducted while 50% of the fruits were red (mature). Plants were separated to the vegetative part and fruits, of them, 2 nodes were analyzed for additional inflorescent parameters such as size, number of flowers, and inflorescent weight. Fresh weight of all vegetative material was measured. Fruits were separated to colors (red vs. green) and in accordance with the fruit size (small, medium and large). Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute). Data parameters collected are summarized in Tables 139-141, herein below.

Analyzed Tomato tissues—Two tissues at different developmental stages [flower and leaf], representing different plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 137 below.

TABLE 137 Tomato transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Leaf at reproductive stage under normal conditions 1 Flower under normal conditions 2 Leaf at reproductive stage under low N conditions 3 Flower under low N conditions 4 Leaf at reproductive stage under drought conditions 5 Flower under drought conditions 6 Provided are the identification (ID) digits of each of the tomato expression sets.

The collected data parameters were as follows:

Fruit Weight (gr)—At the end of the experiment [when 50% of the fruits were ripe (red)] all fruits from plots within blocks A-C were collected. The total fruits were counted and weighted. The average fruits weight was calculated by dividing the total fruit weight by the number of fruits.

Yield/SLA—Fruit yield divided by the specific leaf area, gives a measurement of the balance between reproductive and vegetative processes.

Yield/total leaf area—Fruit yield divided by the total leaf area, gives a measurement of the balance between reproductive and vegetative processes.

Plant vegetative Weight (FW) (gr)—At the end of the experiment [when 50% of the fruit were ripe (red)] all plants from plots within blocks A-C were collected. Fresh weight was measured (grams).

Inflorescence Weight (gr)—At the end of the experiment [when 50% of the fruits were ripe (red)] two Inflorescence from plots within blocks A-C were collected. The Inflorescence weight (gr.) and number of flowers per inflorescence were counted.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at time of flowering. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Water use efficiency (WUE)—can be determined as the biomass produced per unit transpiration. To analyze WUE, leaf relative water content was measured in control and transgenic plants. Fresh weight (FW) was immediately recorded; then leaves were soaked for 8 hours in distilled water at room temperature in the dark, and the turgid weight (TW) was recorded. Total dry weight (DW) was recorded after drying the leaves at 60° C. to a constant weight. Relative water content (RWC) was calculated according to the following Formula I as described above.

Plants that maintain high relative water content (RWC) compared to control lines were considered more tolerant to drought than those exhibiting reduced relative water content.

TABLE 138 Tomato correlated parameters (vectors) Correlation Correlated parameter with ID 100 weight green fruit [gr.] (Drought) 1 100 weight green fruit [gr.] (Low N) 2 100 weight green fruit [gr.] (Normal) 3 100 weight red fruit [gr.] (Drought) 4 100 weight red fruit [gr.] (Low N) 5 100 weight red fruit [gr.] (Normal) 6 Cluster Weight (Low N/Normal) 7 FW NUE [gr.] (Normal) 8 FW (Drought/Normal) 9 FW/Plant [gr./number] (Low N) 10 FW/Plant [gr./number] (Normal) 11 FW/Plant [gr./number] (Drought) 12 Fruit (Drought/Low N) 13 Fruit NUE [number] (Normal) 14 Fruit Yield (Drought/Normal) 15 Fruit Yield/Plant [gr./number] (Low N) 16 Fruit Yield/Plant [gr./number] (Drought) 17 Fruit yield/Plant [gr.] (Normal) 18 HI [yield/yield + biomass] (Low N) 19 HI [yield/yield + biomass] (Normal) 20 Leaflet Length [cm] (Low N) 21 Leaflet Length [cm] (Normal) 22 Leaflet Length [cm]) (Drought) 23 Leaflet Width [cm] (Low N) 24 Leaflet Width [cm] (Normal) 25 Leaflet Width [cm] (Drought) 26 NUE [yield/SPAD] (Low N) 27 NUE [yield/SPAD] [gr./number] (Normal) 28 NUE2 [total biomass/SPAD] (Low N) 29 NUE2 [total biomass/SPAD] [gr./number] (Normal) 30 NUpE [biomass/SPAD] (Low N) 31 NUpE [biomass/SPAD] [gr./number] (Normal) 32 No flowers (Low N) 33 Number of flowers (Normal) 34 Number of Flower Drought/Low N 35 Number of Flower Drought/Normal 36 Number of flowers (Drought) 37 Num. Flowers (Low N/Normal) 38 RWC (Normal) 39 RWC Drought 40 RWC Drought/Normal 41 RWC (Low N) 42 RWC (Low N/Normal) 43 SPAD 100% RWC (Low N/Normal) 44 SLA [leaf area/plant biomass] [cm²/gr] (Low N) 45 SLA [leaf area/plant biomass] [cm²/gr] (Normal) 46 SPAD (Normal) 47 SPAD 100% RWC (Low N) 48 SPAD 100% RWC (Normal) 49 SPAD (Low N) 50 SPAD (Low N/Normal) 51 Total Leaf Area [cm²] (Low N) 52 Total Leaf Area [cm²] (Normal) 53 Total Leaf Area [cm²]) (Drought) 54 Weight Flower clusters [gr.] (Normal) 55 Weight clusters (flowers) (Low N) 56 Weight flower clusters [gr.] (Drought) 57 Yield/SLA [gr./(cm²/gr.)] (Low N) 58 Yield/SLA [gr./(cm²/gr.)] (Normal) 59 Yield/total leaf area [gr/cm²] (Low N) 60 Yield/total leaf area [gr./cm²] (Normal) 61 Average red fruit weight [gr.] (Low N) 62 Average red fruit weight [gr.] (Normal) 63 Average red fruit weight [gr.] (Drought) 64 Flower cluster weight Drought/Low N 65 Flower cluster weight Drought/Normal 66 Red fruit weight (Drought/Normal) 67 Provided are the tomato correlated parameters. “gr.” = grams; “FW” = fresh weight; “NUE” = nitrogen use efficiency; “RWC” = relative water content; “NUpE” = nitrogen uptake efficiency; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “HI” = harvest index (vegetative weight divided on yield); “SLA” = specific leaf area (leaf area divided by leaf dry weight), Treatment in the parenthesis.

Experimental Results

Table 138 provides the tomato correlated parameters (Vectors). The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 139-141 below. Subsequent correlation analysis was conducted (Table 142). Results were integrated to the database.

TABLE 139 Measured parameters in Tomato accessions (lines 1-6) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 2 0.57 0.37 3.40 0.68 0.45 0.47 3 0.56 3.05 0.24 2.58 6.32 5.75 4 5 0.65 0.53 7.17 0.44 0.55 6 0.82 2.46 0.50 2.76 5.32 5.24 7 0.44 0.01 1.08 0.02 0.37 0.81 8 0.74 3.01 0.83 1.54 3.70 1.22 9 0.61 2.63 1.18 1.36 4.02 1.01 10 2.25 2.54 1.85 3.06 3.13 2.54 11 3.02 0.84 2.24 1.98 0.85 2.09 12 1.85 2.22 2.63 2.71 3.41 2.11 13 1.32 0.76 1.51 0.71 5.06 0.89 14 0.97 3.80 2.78 0.78 0.02 1.16 15 1.27 2.88 4.20 0.55 0.09 1.03 16 0.48 0.46 1.35 0.35 0.01 0.51 17 0.63 0.35 2.04 0.25 0.05 0.45 18 0.49 0.12 0.49 0.45 0.53 0.44 19 0.18 0.15 0.42 0.10 0.00 0.17 20 0.14 0.12 0.18 0.19 0.38 0.17 21 3.69 5.43 6.95 3.73 4.39 6.72 22 6.34 7.99 5.59 7.70 7.85 6.22 23 24 1.79 2.55 3.52 1.73 1.87 3.54 25 3.69 4.77 3.43 4.56 4.44 3.15 26 27 0.01 0.02 0.04 0.01 0.00 0.02 28 0.009 0.003 0.010 0.010 0.012 0.008 29 0.08 0.13 0.09 0.11 0.11 0.09 30 0.063 0.021 0.057 0.056 0.032 0.047 31 0.07 0.11 0.05 0.09 0.11 0.08 32 0.054 0.018 0.046 0.046 0.020 0.039 33 9.00 13.00 10.67 16.67 6.00 16.00 34 6.33 7.67 9.67 8.33 5.00 8.33 35 1.74 1.56 1.09 1.52 4.96 1.08 36 2.47 2.65 1.21 3.04 5.95 2.08 37 15.67 20.33 11.67 25.33 29.73 17.33 38 1.42 1.70 1.10 2.00 1.20 1.92 39 64.29 67.07 54.79 77.61 58.18 66.51 40 65.33 72.22 66.13 68.33 78.13 18.46 41 1.02 1.08 1.21 0.88 1.34 0.28 42 69.49 63.24 77.36 77.91 80.49 67.40 43 1.08 0.94 1.41 1.00 1.38 1.01 44 0.92 0.75 1.31 0.97 1.11 0.95 45 131.29 148.82 257.51 64.34 144.60 246.05 46 140.99 689.67 130.22 299.12 1117.74 111.77 47 55.80 46.40 48.20 43.40 42.90 53.30 48 33.01 23.42 34.53 32.51 27.66 33.68 49 35.89 31.09 26.38 33.68 24.98 35.47 50 47.50 37.00 44.60 41.70 34.40 50.00 51 0.85 0.80 0.93 0.96 0.80 0.94 52 294.83 378.00 476.39 197.08 453.24 625.51 53 426.10 582.38 291.40 593.58 947.59 233.35 54 55 0.69 56.35 0.44 11.31 0.79 0.58 56 0.31 0.35 0.47 0.25 0.29 0.47 57 0.33 0.29 0.55 0.31 0.45 0.56 58 0.004 0.003 0.005 0.006 0.000 0.002 59 0.004 0.000 0.004 0.002 0.000 0.004 60 0.002 0.001 0.003 0.002 0.000 0.001 61 0.001 0.000 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.002 62 0.006 0.005 0.096 0.004 0.006 0.007 63 0.01 0.29 0.01 0.05 0.23 0.29 64 0.209 0.005 0.102 0.002 0.035 0.006 65 1.06 0.82 1.16 1.25 1.52 1.19 66 0.47 0.01 1.25 0.03 0.56 0.96 67 25.38 0.02 20.26 0.04 0.15 0.02

TABLE 140 Measured parameters in Tomato accessions (lines 7-12) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 1 0.80 0.28 0.38 2 0.54 0.39 0.97 0.91 0.36 0.35 3 0.38 0.30 1.95 2.53 1.42 2.03 4 0.89 0.35 0.63 5 0.75 0.58 1.27 1.34 0.52 0.57 6 0.61 0.66 2.70 0.70 2.64 4.67 7 0.55 0.36 0.95 0.80 0.34 0.61 8 0.58 0.55 1.06 0.49 1.31 1.36 9 0.61 0.64 0.95 0.51 1.17 1.94 10 1.84 1.52 1.91 1.86 2.47 2.62 11 3.21 2.75 1.81 3.77 1.89 1.93 12 1.95 1.76 1.72 1.92 2.21 3.73 13 0.67 2.17 0.38 1.27 0.84 1.51 14 2.07 1.51 2.41 2.06 0.38 1.64 15 1.39 3.28 0.91 2.62 0.32 2.48 16 0.44 0.47 1.59 0.39 0.32 0.45 17 0.29 1.02 0.60 0.49 0.27 0.68 18 0.21 0.31 0.66 0.19 0.85 0.27 19 0.19 0.24 0.45 0.17 0.12 0.15 20 0.06 0.10 0.27 0.05 0.31 0.12 21 6.66 4.39 3.90 5.29 6.32 5.11 22 6.16 5.65 4.39 4.44 6.77 7.42 23 5.15 3.38 7.14 24 3.28 2.52 2.61 2.61 3.58 2.56 25 3.37 3.13 2.40 2.02 3.80 3.74 26 2.55 2.04 4.17 27 0.01 0.01 0.06 0.01 0.01 0.02 28 0.004 0.006 0.017 0.004 0.015 0.006 29 0.08 0.06 0.14 0.06 0.06 0.12 30 0.058 0.060 0.062 0.083 0.047 0.046 31 0.06 0.04 0.08 0.05 0.05 0.10 32 0.055 0.054 0.045 0.079 0.033 0.040 33 15.00 6.00 17.00 13.00 8.67 9.33 34 10.00 7.00 9.00 8.00 5.33 8.00 35 0.98 4.94 0.88 0.79 2.12 1.29 36 1.47 4.24 1.67 1.29 3.44 1.50 37 14.67 29.67 15.00 10.33 18.33 12.00 38 1.50 0.86 1.89 1.63 1.63 1.17 39 64.71 75.25 66.23 63.21 56.77 35.96 40 73.21 62.50 67.21 75.76 62.82 70.69 41 1.13 0.83 1.01 1.20 1.11 1.97 42 67.16 66.07 69.57 69.30 100.00 57.66 43 1.04 0.88 1.05 1.10 1.76 1.60 44 0.79 0.92 0.94 1.36 1.44 1.50 45 405.55 299.32 86.19 182.32 160.18 90.10 46 106.29 123.14 104.99 111.88 307.95 419.37 47 58.50 51.10 40.00 47.60 57.90 48.30 48 30.04 35.50 24.81 40.77 47.47 26.06 49 37.87 38.43 26.49 30.07 32.89 17.35 50 44.70 53.70 35.70 58.80 47.50 45.20 51 0.76 1.05 0.89 1.24 0.82 0.94 52 748.01 453.96 164.85 338.30 396.00 236.15 53 340.73 339.11 190.14 421.79 581.33 807.51 54 337.63 130.78 557.93 55 0.73 0.83 0.86 0.50 1.02 0.70 56 0.40 0.30 0.82 0.40 0.35 0.43 57 0.304 0.315 0.308 0.311 8.360 0.288 58 0.001 0.002 0.018 0.002 0.002 0.005 59 0.002 0.003 0.006 0.002 0.003 0.001 60 0.001 0.001 0.010 0.001 0.001 0.002 61 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.000 0.001 0.000 62 0.006 0.013 0.021 0.005 0.006 0.047 63 0.006 0.007 0.058 0.007 0.026 0.261 64 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.012 0.005 0.006 65 0.76 1.04 0.38 0.78 24.12 0.67 66 0.42 0.38 0.36 0.62 8.20 0.41 67 0.86 0.74 0.09 1.72 0.17 0.02

TABLE 141 Measured parameters in Tomato accessions (lines 13-18) Eco- type/ Treat- ment Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 Line-16 Line-17 Line-18 1 0.63 2.86 1.16 4.40 2 0.57 4.38 2.02 8.13 0.87 3.66 3 1.39 2.27 0.45 0.42 4 2.27 7.40 2.94 11.60 5 0.94 6.17 3.67 11.33 1.06 6.87 6 2.17 0.49 0.34 0.75 7 0.94 0.68 0.40 1.44 0.46 1.07 8 0.51 0.71 0.31 0.47 2.65 0.38 9 0.35 1.06 0.21 0.48 1.72 0.34 10 1.08 1.17 0.92 1.09 4.04 1.21 11 2.14 1.65 3.01 2.29 1.53 3.17 12 0.75 1.76 0.63 1.11 2.62 1.09 13 0.98 1.34 0.38 0.84 1.15 0.73 14 0.41 1.21 4.59 1.70 0.49 1.93 15 0.41 1.62 1.76 1.42 0.57 1.41 16 0.14 0.40 1.44 0.50 0.41 0.66 17 0.14 0.53 0.55 0.41 0.47 0.48 18 0.35 0.33 0.31 0.29 0.83 0.34 19 0.12 0.25 0.61 0.31 0.09 0.35 20 0.14 0.17 0.09 0.11 0.35 0.10 21 4.72 6.83 7.10 8.21 6.40 5.92 22 6.71 5.87 4.16 10.29 23 5.48 8.62 6.35 6.77 24 2.48 3.43 3.30 3.69 3.47 1.97 25 2.98 3.22 2.09 5.91 26 3.09 4.69 3.87 2.91 27 0.00 0.01 0.04 0.01 0.01 0.02 28 0.008 0.006 0.008 0.005 0.017 0.009 29 0.03 0.05 0.06 0.04 0.16 0.05 30 0.057 0.036 0.080 0.044 0.047 0.095 31 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.14 0.03 32 0.049 0.030 0.072 0.039 0.031 0.085 33 12.67 6.67 9.33 8.00 19.00 5.33 34 7.67 9.00 10.67 9.00 5.67 19.33 35 1.61 1.90 1.36 1.42 0.88 1.22 36 2.65 1.41 1.19 1.26 2.94 0.34 37 20.33 12.67 12.67 11.33 16.67 6.50 38 1.65 0.74 0.88 0.89 3.35 0.28 39 77.62 100.00 63.16 75.13 72.83 76.47 40 55.75 75.22 63.68 62.31 72.12 74.51 41 0.72 0.75 1.01 0.83 0.99 0.97 42 90.79 68.00 59.65 72.17 74.07 99.08 43 1.17 0.68 0.94 0.96 1.02 1.30 44 1.05 0.56 1.48 0.84 0.79 1.37 45 160.99 379.03 531.08 650.68 140.04 317.12 46 365.81 212.93 84.94 469.87 47 43.60 54.50 41.60 59.10 49.70 37.20 48 35.38 30.60 38.97 37.46 28.47 39.04 49 33.82 54.47 26.25 44.43 36.17 28.45 50 39.00 45.00 65.30 51.90 38.40 39.40 51 0.89 0.83 1.57 0.88 0.77 1.06 52 174.58 441.78 489.18 707.80 565.93 384.77 53 784.06 351.80 255.78 1078.10 54 176.67 791.86 517.05 832.27 55 0.38 0.66 0.70 0.33 1.17 0.34 56 0.35 0.45 0.28 0.47 0.53 0.37 57 0.34 0.44 0.27 0.43 0.37 0.41 58 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.001 0.003 0.002 59 0.001 0.002 0.004 0.001 60 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.001 0.001 0.002 61 0.000 0.001 0.001 0.000 62 0.357 0.037 0.626 0.024 0.191 63 0.029 0.005 0.003 0.009 0.048 0.008 64 0.30 0.14 0.04 0.09 0.01 0.19 65 0.97 0.99 0.95 0.91 0.69 1.11 66 0.91 0.67 0.38 1.31 0.32 1.19 67 10.50 27.89 11.79 9.98 0.19 24.37 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in tomato accessions (Seed ID) under all growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 142 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal and stress conditions across tomato ecotypes Corr. Gene Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP107 0.73 1.67E−02 3 48 LGP32 0.86 1.54E−03 5 40 LGP34 0.79 6.53E−03 4 38 LGP34 0.74 2.35E−02 1 30 LGP34 0.79 6.61E−03 4 31 LGP34 0.75 1.30E−02 4 56 LGP42 0.82 1.26E−02 2 46 LGP42 0.85 7.98E−03 2 25 LYD892 0.88 6.82E−04 1 63 LYD892 0.71 2.23E−02 3 50 LYD892 0.78 7.71E−03 2 63 LYD893 0.82 6.41E−03 1 20 LYD894 0.71 4.93E−02 2 22 LYD894 0.85 1.90E−03 5 9 LYD894 0.78 2.37E−02 2 53 LYD894 0.84 2.34E−03 6 9 LYD895 0.88 7.77E−04 5 37 LYD895 0.89 6.48E−04 4 50 LYD895 0.73 1.66E−02 4 19 LYD895 0.84 2.57E−03 4 51 LYD897 0.70 2.38E−02 4 52 LYD898 0.80 5.34E−03 6 12 LYD899 0.90 1.06E−03 2 32 LYD901 0.75 1.16E−02 4 27 LYD901 0.72 1.79E−02 4 16 LYD902 0.72 1.88E−02 2 49 LYD903 0.72 1.85E−02 6 35 LYD903 0.90 3.97E−04 6 36 LYD903 0.72 1.77E−02 5 57 LYD904 0.81 4.71E−03 5 66 LYD905 0.84 2.62E−03 3 58 LYD905 0.81 4.29E−03 2 55 LYD906 0.87 2.55E−03 1 30 LYD906 0.71 2.04E−02 1 11 LYD907 0.81 1.58E−02 2 59 LYD907 0.77 9.12E−03 6 9 LYD907 0.70 2.33E−02 2 63 LYD908 0.71 2.14E−02 1 34 LYD910 0.84 2.18E−03 4 33 LYD910 0.72 1.98E−02 2 55 LYD911 0.74 3.67E−02 2 59 LYD911 0.82 6.67E−03 2 32 LYD912 0.71 2.17E−02 3 24 LYD913 0.87 1.05E−03 5 57 LYD913 0.88 7.68E−04 5 65 LYD914 0.72 1.89E−02 5 64 LYD914 0.71 2.07E−02 4 2 LYD915 0.71 5.07E−02 2 46 LYD915 0.81 1.40E−02 2 6 LYD917 0.77 2.56E−02 2 6 LYD917 0.80 5.64E−03 4 5 LYD918 0.83 9.98E−03 2 59 LYD918 0.76 1.75E−02 2 28 LYD918 0.89 6.15E−04 5 35 LYD921 0.72 4.55E−02 2 22 LYD922 0.88 1.72E−03 2 30 LYD922 0.77 1.42E−02 1 32 LYD922 0.71 2.23E−02 5 35 LYD923 0.72 1.87E−02 6 12 LYD924 0.80 5.50E−03 3 7 LYD924 0.74 1.53E−02 3 2 LYD924 0.76 2.93E−02 2 53 LYD924 0.80 5.55E−03 6 66 LYD924 0.73 1.68E−02 4 48 LYD925 0.97 2.60E−06 5 65 LYD925 0.97 5.17E−06 5 57 LGP32 0.75 2.09E−02 2 32 LGP34 0.72 2.82E−02 1 32 LGP42 0.83 1.09E−02 2 22 LGP34 0.82 3.60E−03 4 29 LGP34 0.76 1.06E−02 4 33 LGP34 0.72 1.82E−02 4 8 LGP42 0.87 4.97E−03 2 53 LGP42 0.83 2.84E−03 2 55 LYD892 0.73 1.76E−02 5 9 LYD892 0.88 7.09E−04 2 55 LYD892 0.84 2.64E−03 1 55 LYD893 0.95 2.49E−05 5 35 LYD894 0.85 7.34E−03 2 46 LYD895 0.81 1.53E−02 2 61 LYD894 0.71 2.22E−02 6 12 LYD894 0.79 6.15E−03 5 12 LYD895 0.79 6.33E−03 5 36 LYD895 0.90 3.33E−04 5 35 LYD895 0.73 1.63E−02 4 14 LYD895 0.73 2.49E−02 4 62 LYD898 0.79 7.08E−03 1 55 LYD899 0.77 1.49E−02 2 30 LYD899 0.73 1.56E−02 6 40 LYD901 0.70 2.34E−02 4 60 LYD902 0.75 1.21E−02 3 48 LYD902 0.74 1.34E−02 5 9 LYD903 0.91 2.11E−04 6 37 LYD903 0.73 1.59E−02 5 65 LYD904 0.73 1.71E−02 5 65 LYD904 0.74 1.42E−02 5 57 LYD906 0.88 1.93E−03 1 32 LYD905 0.88 7.46E−04 2 39 LYD906 0.72 2.85E−02 2 30 LYD906 0.75 1.25E−02 1 34 LYD907 0.75 3.19E−02 2 61 LYD907 0.73 1.61E−02 5 9 LYD907 0.71 2.03E−02 1 63 LYD909 0.72 1.98E−02 6 35 LYD911 0.76 1.03E−02 3 42 LYD910 0.75 1.31E−02 1 55 LYD911 0.75 1.99E−02 2 30 LYD912 0.74 2.41E−02 1 20 LYD913 0.78 2.36E−02 2 53 LYD914 0.72 1.86E−02 4 45 LYD913 0.81 4.57E−03 5 66 LYD915 0.76 2.80E−02 2 22 LYD914 0.70 2.35E−02 5 67 LYD915 0.75 3.07E−02 2 25 LYD915 0.72 1.78E−02 6 12 LYD917 0.77 8.86E−03 4 2 LYD917 0.77 8.74E−03 4 7 LYD918 0.70 3.57E−02 2 20 LYD918 0.80 1.62E−02 2 61 LYD919 0.75 3.36E−02 2 3 LYD921 0.78 2.23E−02 2 25 LYD922 0.78 1.34E−02 2 32 LYD922 0.80 9.23E−03 1 30 LYD923 0.72 1.85E−02 2 47 LYD923 0.77 9.81E−03 6 9 LYD924 0.71 4.79E−02 2 46 LYD924 0.78 8.34E−03 3 5 LYD924 0.78 7.44E−03 6 65 LYD924 0.78 7.83E−03 6 57 LYD924 0.74 1.47E−02 4 44 LYD925 0.95 3.34E−05 5 66 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Correlation vector (Corr.))] under normal conditions across tomato ecotypes. P = p value.

Example 18 Production of Cotton Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with Yield and ABST Related Parameters Using 60K Cotton Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a cotton oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60,000 cotton genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with ABST and yield and components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 13 different cotton ecotypes were analyzed and further used for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Correlation of Cotton Varieties Across Ecotypes Grown Under Regular Growth Conditions

Experimental Procedures

13 Cotton ecotypes were grown in 5-11 repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: cotton plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols [580,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period, and fertilization of 24 units of nitrogen, 12 units of phosphorous (P₂O₅) and 12 units of potassium (K₂O) per entire growth period; Plot size of 5 meter long, two rows, 8 plants per meter].

It should be noted that one unit of phosphorous refers to one kg of P₂O₅ per dunam; and that one unit of potassium refers to one kg of K₂O per dunam;

Analyzed Cotton tissues—Six tissues [mature leaf, lower and upper main stem, flower, main mature boll and fruit] from plants growing under normal conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 143 below.

TABLE 143 Sorghum transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Mature leaf at reproductive stage under normal conditions 1 Lower main stem at reproductive stage under normal 2 growth conditions Upper main stem at reproductive stage under normal 3 growth conditions Main flower at reproductive stage under normal growth 4 conditions Fruit at 10 DPA at reproductive stage under normal 5 growth conditions Main mature boll at reproductive stage under normal 6 growth conditions Provided are the cotton transcriptome expression sets. Flag leaf = Full expanded leaf in the upper canopy; Lower main stem = the main stem adjacent to main mature boll, Upper main stem = the main stem adjacent to the main flower, Main flower = reproductive organ on the third position on the main stem (position 3), Fruit at 10 DPA = reproductive organ ten days after anthesis on the main stem (position 2), Main mature boll = reproductive organ on the first position on the main stem (position 1).

Cotton yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—13 Cotton ecotypes in 5-11 repetitive plots, each plot containing approximately 80 plants were grown in field. Plants were regularly fertilized and watered during plant growth until harvesting (as recommended for commercial growth). Plants were continuously phenotyped during the growth period and at harvest (Table 144). The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

The following parameters were measured and collected:

% Canopy coverage (10 DPA), (F)—percent Canopy coverage 10 days post anthesis (DPA) and at flowering stage. The % Canopy coverage is calculated using Formula XXXII above.

Leaf area (10 DPA) [cm²]—Total green leaves area 10 days post anthesis.

Leaf mass fraction (10 DPA) [cm²/g]—leaf mass fraction 10 days post anthesis. The leaf mass fraction is calculated using Formula XXXIII above.

SPAD—Plants were characterized for SPAD rate during growing period at 2 time points (pre-flowering and 17 days post anthesis). Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 64 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Four measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

PAR_LAI (10DPA)—Photosynthetically active radiation 10 days post anthesis.

Shoot FW and DW [gr]—Shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight at vegetative stage and 10 days post anthesis, after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours. Total weight of 3 plants in a plot.

Plant height (H)[cm]—plants were measured for their height at harvest using a measuring tape. Height of main stem was measured from ground to apical meristem base. Average of eight plants per plot.

Lower stem width (H)[mm]—This parameter was measured at harvest. Lower internodes from 8 plants per plot were separated from the plant and the diameter was measured using a caliber. The average internode width per plant was calculated by dividing the total stem width by the number of plants.

Upper stem width (H)[mm]—This parameter was measured at harvest. Upper internodes from 8 plants per plot were separated from the plant and the diameter was measured using a caliber. The average internode width per plant was calculated by dividing the total stem width by the number of plants.

Relative Growth Rate:

the relative growth rate (RGR) of Plant Height (Formula III above) RGR of SPAD (Formula IV) as described above.

Reproductive period duration—number of days from flowering to harvest for each plot.

Number of lateral branches with open bolls (H)—count of number of lateral branches with open bolls at harvest, average of eight plants per plot.

Number of nodes with open bolls (MS) (H)—count of number of nodes with open bolls on main stem at harvest, average of eight plants per plot.

Closed bolls number per plant (SP)—Average closed bolls number per plant from selected plants.

Closed bolls number per plant (RP)—Average closed bolls number per plant from the rest of the plot.

Open bolls number per plant (SP)—Average open bolls number per plant from selected plants. average of eight plants per plot.

Bolls number per plant (RP)—Average bolls number per plant from the rest of the plot.

Bolls number in position 1 and position 3—Average bolls number from the first fruit node at position 1 and position 3 divided by plant number, 25 days post anthesis.

Total Bolls yield (Sp)[gr]—Bolls fresh weight at harvest of selected plant.

Calculated Avr Bolls FW (MB) po_1 and po_3 (H)[gr]—Calculated average bolls fresh weight on main branch at positions 1 (po_1) and 3 (po_3).

Calculated Avr Fiber yield (MB) po_1 and po_3 (H) [gr]—Weight of the fiber on the main branch in position 1 and position 3 at harvest.

Fiber yield per boll (RP)[gr]—Total fiber weight in plot divided by the number of bolls.

Fiber yield per plant (RP)[gr]—Total fiber weight in plot divided by the number of plants.

Fiber Length (RP)—Measure Fiber Length in inch from the rest of the plot.

Fiber Length Position 3 (SP)—Fiber length at position 3 from the selected plants. Measure Fiber Length in inch.

Fiber Length Position 1(SP)—Fiber length at position 1 from the selected plants. Measure Fiber Length in inch.

Fiber Strength (RP)—Fiber Strength from the rest of the plot, measured in grams per denier.

Fiber Strength Position 3 (SP)—Fiber strength at position 3 from the selected plants, measured in grams per denier.

Fiber Strength Position 1 (SP)—Fiber strength at position 1 from the selected plants. Measured in grams per denier.

Micronaire (RP)—fiber fineness and maturity from the rest of the plot. The scale that was used was 3.7-4.2—for Premium; 4.3-4.9-Base Range; above 5-Discount Range.

Micronaire Position 3 (SP)—fiber fineness and maturity from position 3 from the selected plants. The scale that was used was 3.7-4.2—for Premium; 4.3-4.9-Base Range; above 5-Discount Range.

Micronaire Position 1 (SP)—fiber fineness and maturity from position 1 from the selected plants. The scale that was used was 3.7-4.2—for Premium; 4.3-4.9-Base Range; above 5-Discount Range.

1000 seed weight [gr]—At the end of the experiment all seeds from all plots were collected and weighted and the weight of 1000 seeds was calculated.

Seeds yield per plant (RP) [gr]—Total weight of seeds in plot divided in plants number.

Calculated Avr Seeds number (MB) po_1/po_3 (H)—Calculated Average Seeds number on main stem at position 1 and position 3 at harvest.

Calculated Avr Seeds yield (MB) po_1/po_3 (H)[gr]—Calculated Average Seeds yield on main stem at position 1 and position 3 at harvest.

Experimental Results

13 different cotton varieties were grown and characterized for different parameters: The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 145-146) and a subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets (Table 143) and the average parameters, was conducted (Table 147). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 144 Cotton correlated parameters (vectors) Correlation Correlated parameter with ID % Canopy coverage (10 DPA) 1 1000 seeds weight (RP) [gr] 2 Bolls num per plant (RP) 3 Closed Bolls num per plant (RP) 4 Closed Bolls num per plant (SP) 5 Fiber Length (RP) 6 Fiber Length Position 3 (SP) 7 Fiber Strength (RP) 8 Fiber Strength Position 3 (SP) 9 Fiber yield per boll (RP) [gr] 10 Fiber yield per plant (RP) [gr] 11 Leaf area (10 DPA) [cm²] 12 Lower Stem width (H) [mm] 13 Micronaire (RP) 14 Micronaire Position 3 (SP) 15 Num of lateral branches with open bolls (H) 16 Num of nodes with open bolls (MS) (H) 17 Open Bolls num per plant (SP) 18 PAR_LAI (10 DPA) 19 Plant height (H) [cm] 20 Plant height growth 21 Reproductive period duration 22 SPAD (17 DPA) 23 SPAD (pre F) 24 SPAD rate 25 Seeds yield per plant (RP) [gr] 26 Shoot DW (10 DPA) [gr] 27 Shoot DW (V) [gr] 28 Shoot FW (10 DPA) [gr] 29 Shoot FW (V) [gr] 30 Total Bolls yield (SP) [gr] 31 Upper Stem width (H) [mm] 32 bolls num in position 1 33 bolls num in position 3 34 estimated Avr Bolls FW (MB) po_1 (H) [gr] 35 estimated Avr Bolls FW (MB) po_3 (H) [gr] 36 estimated Avr Fiber yield (MB) po_1 (H) [gr] 37 estimated Avr Fiber yield (MB) po_3 (H) [gr] 38 estimated Avr Seeds num (MB) po_1 (H) 39 estimated Avr Seeds num (MB) po_3 (H) 40 estimated Avr Seeds yield (MB) po_1 (H) [gr] 41 estimated Avr Seeds yield (MB) po_3 (H) [gr] 42 leaf mass fraction (10 DPA) [cm²/g] 43 Provided are the Cotton correlated parameters (vectors). “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “normal” = standard growth conditions.

TABLE 145 Measured parameters in Cotton accessions (1-7) Eco- type/ Treat- ment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 1 84.01 94.86 92.93 89.23 84.88 87.15 79.89 2 105.24 113.64 98.49 84.74 111.74 82.47 91.64 3 11.01 19.11 11.83 15.49 22.62 11.78 13.45 4 4.23 NA NA NA NA NA 4.56 5 5.55 2.08 3.39 2.09 3.07 2.41 5.89 6 1.16 1.28 1.15 1.12 1.41 1.07 0.90 7 1.15 1.30 1.14 1.10 1.44 0.96 0.84 8 28.80 34.47 25.88 29.20 39.66 22.60 22.58 9 29.60 36.55 26.17 29.63 39.53 20.10 21.57 10 2.30 1.37 2.22 1.81 1.12 0.40 1.80 11 25.18 26.00 25.37 27.87 25.35 4.67 24.02 12 7007.67 6622.34 5544.74 8196.02 8573.30 8155.29 5291.27 13 12.79 13.71 11.83 12.38 12.97 10.92 12.97 14 4.31 3.63 3.95 4.37 4.10 6.05 5.01 15 4.57 3.89 3.99 4.71 4.75 5.69 5.25 16 1.02 1.46 0.81 0.96 1.21 1.69 1.29 17 8.15 10.90 9.00 11.04 10.14 7.85 8.48 18 11.98 22.56 11.80 18.75 27.65 16.42 15.00 19 5.67 6.87 6.45 5.86 5.61 6.59 4.09 20 112.80 110.77 100.59 115.45 103.26 98.52 121.91 21 1.86 2.00 1.73 1.72 1.66 1.72 2.09 22 121.33 108.11 108.00 103.80 102.88 108.00 126.00 23 34.29 33.52 31.41 29.66 37.10 27.43 33.39 24 32.13 35.30 35.99 35.80 35.03 32.92 35.89 25 0.04 −0.06 −0.26 −0.22 0.10 −0.29 −0.14 26 32.49 34.86 32.48 35.06 36.32 26.74 33.06 27 169.15 183.58 171.09 172.70 190.03 149.03 193.14 28 39.20 64.68 44.79 38.06 46.23 36.68 48.20 29 842.47 792.64 804.23 766.97 745.20 725.93 922.57 30 168.94 256.04 194.76 155.69 154.56 172.13 193.28 31 505.37 564.21 544.17 585.47 536.54 317.18 488.33 32 3.02 3.64 3.32 3.13 3.23 2.73 2.80 33 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 34 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 35 6.62 4.88 7.08 5.34 4.08 3.58 5.66 36 6.42 2.93 5.95 4.16 2.72 2.73 5.13 37 2.53 1.88 2.69 2.02 1.50 0.38 2.04 38 2.46 1.13 2.34 1.69 1.06 0.50 1.87 39 31.56 24.16 36.01 31.31 20.94 32.59 30.77 40 31.23 15.50 33.29 26.13 14.87 31.25 32.63 41 3.33 2.70 3.83 2.99 2.43 3.02 3.03 42 3.29 1.58 3.06 2.19 1.64 2.29 2.76 43 41.10 36.48 33.99 47.95 44.56 54.74 28.14 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Cotton accessions (ecotype) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 146 Additional measured parameters in Cotton accessions (8-13) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 1 85.19 83.55 84.53 95.90 95.92 83.89 2 116.68 99.58 99.55 97.72 102.72 109.95 3 21.94 13.92 11.56 17.33 14.98 12.15 4 NA NA 3.16 1.11 NA NA 5 2.34 3.75 3.31 1.84 2.74 3.09 6 1.38 1.18 1.12 1.12 1.18 1.18 7 1.41 1.14 1.07 1.11 1.20 1.20 8 42.63 28.87 25.87 28.98 30.82 29.77 9 42.70 28.38 23.67 30.30 31.97 30.53 10 1.24 2.23 1.99 1.18 1.74 2.39 11 26.64 30.80 23.14 20.49 25.97 29.14 12 8854.54 5650.67 6003.34 6691.84 9004.97 7268.00 13 13.07 14.26 11.84 14.48 12.57 14.00 14 3.88 3.98 4.10 4.55 4.76 4.93 15 4.48 4.19 4.51 4.21 4.25 4.74 16 1.13 0.80 0.58 0.13 0.15 0.71 17 11.29 10.83 8.73 12.33 9.19 10.65 18 30.29 17.90 12.40 19.56 14.67 15.67 19 5.63 5.62 5.33 7.41 7.54 5.51 20 102.22 127.29 105.85 151.27 117.64 119.24 21 1.63 2.07 1.86 1.57 1.87 1.94 22 102.71 104.36 126.00 145.17 109.50 106.17 23 33.79 31.91 32.87 22.08 28.07 31.13 24 33.63 35.26 38.12 32.77 34.44 35.33 25 −0.08 −0.13 −0.24 −0.51 −0.24 −0.24 26 39.54 39.68 30.15 47.61 37.79 35.85 27 196.45 199.76 179.43 134.30 198.46 165.53 28 50.81 51.71 39.70 35.34 42.12 42.05 29 802.23 861.63 930.97 591.63 911.42 791.81 30 230.40 176.68 176.53 163.68 164.66 170.94 31 620.54 715.10 421.32 531.77 405.27 715.72 32 2.99 3.45 2.88 3.40 3.28 3.29 33 5.00 5.00 5.00 NA 5.00 5.00 34 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 35 3.13 6.37 6.14 NA 4.95 6.95 36 3.31 4.71 5.44 4.14 4.60 6.25 37 1.14 2.47 2.29 NA 1.77 2.92 38 1.19 1.91 2.02 1.12 1.65 2.65 39 15.45 31.45 29.29 NA 25.62 34.56 40 18.21 25.13 28.98 29.15 25.92 32.67 41 1.87 3.21 3.00 NA 2.82 3.87 42 2.06 2.25 2.65 2.73 2.55 3.56 43 45.41 28.05 33.48 47.94 45.95 44.01 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Cotton accessions (ecotype) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 147 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normalconditions across Cotton accessions Corr. Gene Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP47 0.81 2.69E−02 2 32 LGP47 0.72 7.83E−03 4 18 LGP47 0.92 3.56E−03 1 42 LGP47 0.99 1.97E−05 1 14 LGP47 0.74 8.97E−02 1 39 LGP47 0.78 3.70E−02 1 36 LGP47 0.84 1.80E−02 2 1 LGP47 0.72 8.12E−03 4 6 LGP58 0.70 7.84E−02 2 43 LGP58 0.71 9.10E−03 3 12 LGP58 0.71 6.90E−03 6 15 LGP65 0.83 2.69E−03 5 43 LGP65 0.70 1.06E−02 4 7 LGP65 0.81 1.37E−03 4 8 LGP65 0.74 5.88E−02 1 38 LGP65 0.82 4.61E−02 1 35 LGP65 0.83 3.94E−02 1 37 LGP65 0.78 3.87E−02 2 22 LGP65 0.75 4.92E−03 4 9 LYD835 0.77 4.48E−02 1 42 LYD835 0.77 4.48E−02 1 40 LYD835 0.75 4.99E−02 2 30 LYD836 0.73 1.74E−02 5 43 LYD836 0.85 1.43E−02 1 42 LYD836 0.72 6.81E−02 1 14 LYD836 0.93 7.69E−03 1 39 LYD836 0.79 3.48E−02 1 36 LYD836 0.74 8.66E−03 3 39 LYD836 0.73 7.59E−03 4 1 LYD837 0.78 3.76E−02 2 2 LYD837 0.78 2.58E−03 3 9 LYD837 0.90 5.68E−03 1 32 LYD838 0.77 4.31E−02 2 19 LYD838 0.72 5.60E−03 6 18 LYD838 0.73 5.04E−03 6 3 LYD838 0.74 5.88E−02 1 7 LYD838 0.79 3.62E−02 1 8 LYD838 0.75 5.36E−02 1 6 LYD839 0.72 6.59E−02 2 30 LYD839 0.77 8.62E−03 5 14 LYD840 0.88 1.92E−04 4 42 LYD840 0.80 1.65E−03 4 40 LYD840 0.72 8.20E−03 4 36 LYD841 0.80 5.56E−03 5 38 LYD841 0.84 4.25E−03 5 35 LYD841 0.93 2.51E−03 2 20 LYD841 0.71 6.39E−03 6 38 LYD841 0.75 4.83E−03 6 35 LYD841 0.75 1.22E−02 5 36 LYD841 0.71 1.04E−02 4 8 LYD842 0.71 9.18E−03 3 22 LYD842 0.71 6.21E−03 6 36 LYD842 0.82 2.52E−02 1 20 LYD843 0.95 8.97E−04 2 14 LYD843 0.73 6.61E−03 4 7 LYD843 0.81 1.47E−03 4 8 LYD843 0.76 3.81E−03 4 6 LYD843 0.70 7.46E−03 6 2 LYD843 0.79 1.36E−03 6 18 LYD843 0.81 8.53E−04 6 3 LYD843 0.71 7.39E−02 1 18 LYD843 0.75 5.44E−02 1 31 LYD843 0.78 1.52E−03 6 9 LYD843 0.73 6.28E−02 1 13 LYD843 0.81 1.48E−03 3 3 LYD844 0.71 2.16E−02 5 21 LYD844 0.84 2.28E−03 5 42 LYD844 0.78 1.30E−02 5 35 LYD844 0.89 6.54E−04 5 36 LYD844 0.79 6.12E−02 1 41 LYD844 0.89 6.53E−03 2 39 LYD844 0.71 1.34E−02 4 35 LYD844 0.72 1.31E−02 4 39 LYD844 0.71 6.46E−03 6 40 LYD844 0.74 5.91E−02 1 42 LYD844 0.85 1.54E−02 1 40 LYD844 0.86 2.66E−02 1 37 LYD844 0.76 6.57E−03 3 39 LYD845 0.84 1.70E−02 2 16 LYD845 0.78 1.86E−03 6 30 LYD845 0.84 2.09E−03 5 14 LYD846 0.71 7.27E−02 1 15 LYD847 0.85 4.06E−03 5 39 LYD847 0.80 2.98E−02 2 22 LYD847 0.83 2.16E−02 2 21 LYD847 0.71 7.33E−02 2 10 LYD847 0.72 6.67E−02 2 36 LYD847 0.80 9.62E−04 6 10 LYD847 0.77 4.28E−02 1 22 LYD847 0.72 6.58E−02 1 20 LYD847 0.82 1.10E−03 6 37 LYD847 0.86 3.87E−04 3 38 LYD847 0.90 1.64E−04 3 35 LYD847 0.95 1.11E−05 3 39 LYD847 0.84 5.58E−04 3 36 LYD848 0.77 4.08E−02 1 22 LYD848 0.85 1.56E−02 1 17 LYD849 0.83 2.71E−03 5 38 LYD849 0.75 1.17E−02 5 10 LYD849 0.75 1.97E−02 5 37 LYD849 0.97 3.35E−04 2 38 LYD849 0.95 1.28E−03 2 10 LYD849 0.81 2.62E−02 2 35 LYD849 0.71 7.35E−02 2 13 LYD849 0.84 7.16E−04 4 18 LYD849 0.74 5.74E−03 4 3 LYD849 0.93 2.47E−03 2 36 LYD849 0.77 1.99E−03 6 42 LYD849 0.76 3.76E−03 6 35 LYD849 0.73 6.51E−02 1 21 LYD849 0.88 8.24E−03 1 10 LYD849 0.78 6.57E−02 1 39 LYD849 0.71 7.38E−02 1 29 LYD849 0.73 7.29E−03 3 24 LYD849 0.81 7.63E−04 6 36 LYD849 0.73 2.46E−02 5 41 LYD850 0.87 1.18E−02 2 18 LYD850 0.89 7.44E−03 2 8 LYD850 0.93 2.60E−03 2 3 LYD850 0.85 1.62E−02 2 25 LYD850 0.74 5.94E−02 1 7 LYD850 0.93 2.63E−03 1 23 LYD850 0.86 1.21E−02 1 12 LYD850 0.74 5.50E−02 1 27 LYD850 0.79 3.35E−02 1 15 LYD850 0.76 3.97E−03 3 30 LYD850 0.83 2.05E−02 2 9 LYD850 0.76 1.16E−02 5 13 MGP1 0.73 1.55E−02 5 13 LGP47 0.72 6.94E−02 2 19 LYD838 0.73 6.08E−02 2 32 LYD841 0.80 1.99E−03 6 37 LYD843 0.75 3.02E−03 6 7 LYD843 0.81 8.32E−04 6 8 LYD843 0.77 1.90E−03 6 6 LYD850 0.99 8.98E−06 1 25 LYD850 0.87 2.40E−04 3 28 LYD843 0.74 6.27E−03 4 9 LYD849 0.83 2.06E−02 1 38 LYD845 0.71 7.52E−02 1 27 LGP65 0.85 1.65E−03 5 14 LYD841 0.73 6.18E−02 2 32 LYD843 0.71 7.17E−02 2 43 LYD844 0.76 4.13E−03 6 39 LYD847 0.79 2.01E−03 6 35 LYD849 0.79 1.45E−03 6 10 LYD850 0.77 4.12E−02 1 6 LYD837 0.74 5.67E−03 3 3 LYD849 0.77 3.60E−03 6 37 LYD842 0.71 6.52E−03 6 38 LGP65 0.86 1.22E−02 1 21 LYD836 0.80 5.25E−03 5 14 LGP47 0.74 9.48E−02 1 35 LGP47 0.85 1.57E−02 1 40 LGP47 0.78 7.02E−02 1 37 LGP47 0.79 6.19E−02 1 41 LYD849 0.83 4.00E−02 1 35 LYD843 0.72 7.88E−03 3 30 LYD837 0.70 7.80E−02 2 6 LYD849 0.78 6.82E−02 1 37 LYD838 0.70 1.13E−02 3 28 LYD838 0.89 7.87E−03 2 1 LYD849 0.81 1.41E−03 4 8 LYD849 0.72 7.88E−03 4 9 LGP65 0.79 3.36E−02 1 10 LGP65 0.82 4.64E−02 1 39 LGP65 0.79 6.21E−02 1 41 LYD839 0.74 5.75E−02 2 6 LYD849 0.74 5.65E−02 1 5 LYD844 0.84 1.84E−02 2 40 LYD850 0.78 3.91E−02 2 7 LGP47 0.72 7.78E−03 4 8 LYD841 0.84 2.57E−03 5 10 LYD841 0.83 5.11E−03 5 37 LYD841 0.75 5.45E−02 2 11 LYD836 0.70 1.12E−02 4 19 LYD840 0.83 7.70E−04 4 22 LYD850 0.84 1.71E−02 1 16 LYD847 0.80 1.93E−03 3 10 LYD849 0.81 2.79E−02 1 36 LGP58 0.71 7.26E−02 1 43 LYD843 0.80 1.81E−03 3 18 LYD843 0.86 1.35E−02 2 15 LGP65 0.72 8.29E−03 4 18 LGP65 0.71 9.91E−03 4 6 LYD840 0.73 1.05E−02 4 35 LYD844 0.71 1.04E−02 4 42 LGP58 0.72 5.32E−03 6 14 LYD847 0.79 1.18E−03 6 38 LYD835 0.88 8.12E−03 1 14 LYD835 0.80 3.11E−02 1 20 LYD836 0.87 1.16E−02 1 22 LYD844 0.75 4.72E−03 3 40 LYD844 0.76 9.99E−03 5 38 LYD844 0.71 2.12E−02 5 10 LYD844 0.75 1.29E−02 5 40 LYD844 0.77 1.51E−02 5 41 LYD844 0.75 1.21E−02 5 5 LYD844 0.71 7.38E−02 2 41 LYD840 0.73 1.06E−02 4 39 LYD840 0.84 1.14E−03 4 41 LYD849 0.83 4.72E−04 6 38 LYD836 0.96 2.99E−03 1 35 LYD836 0.95 1.02E−03 1 40 LYD836 0.92 8.24E−03 1 37 LYD850 0.77 4.35E−02 1 18 LYD845 0.79 3.29E−02 2 15 LYD837 0.73 6.33E−02 1 28 LGP47 0.70 1.08E−02 3 21 LYD846 0.72 2.01E−02 5 15 LYD847 0.79 1.22E−02 5 41 LYD847 0.94 1.41E−03 2 5 LYD847 0.71 7.62E−02 2 24 LYD847 0.81 2.80E−02 2 29 LYD844 0.81 1.54E−03 4 26 LYD838 0.71 6.78E−03 6 8 LYD836 0.86 2.67E−02 1 41 LYD838 0.91 3.90E−03 1 18 LYD842 0.96 7.51E−04 1 22 LYD847 0.79 3.77E−03 3 37 LYD847 0.90 1.51E−04 3 41 MGP1 0.73 6.50E−03 4 22 LYD837 0.82 9.97E−04 3 8 LYD838 0.97 3.74E−04 1 3 LYD838 0.80 3.18E−02 1 9 LYD849 0.79 6.44E−03 5 42 LYD849 0.75 2.08E−02 5 35 LYD849 0.82 3.33E−03 5 36 LYD849 0.80 2.92E−02 2 42 LYD849 0.71 7.36E−02 2 32 LYD849 0.94 1.57E−03 2 37 LYD849 0.79 3.59E−02 2 11 LYD843 0.84 6.44E−04 4 18 LYD843 0.85 4.99E−04 4 3 LYD844 0.77 3.40E−03 4 17 LYD838 0.71 6.59E−03 6 6 LYD841 0.75 2.98E−03 6 10 LYD843 0.79 3.55E−02 1 14 LYD843 0.89 7.67E−03 1 17 LYD844 0.90 1.48E−02 1 35 LYD844 0.86 2.78E−02 1 39 LYD850 0.80 3.09E−02 1 8 LYD844 0.85 1.51E−02 1 22 LYD836 0.74 5.50E−03 3 40 LYD850 0.70 7.96E−02 2 28 LYD850 0.82 2.29E−02 2 32 LYD850 0.70 7.98E−02 2 27 LYD850 0.87 9.98E−03 2 6 LYD844 0.76 4.64E−02 1 20 LYD847 0.81 2.60E−02 1 19 LYD847 0.74 5.54E−02 1 1 LYD848 0.77 4.19E−02 1 32 LYD848 0.73 6.43E−02 1 13 LYD850 0.72 6.60E−02 1 3 LYD840 0.73 6.47E−02 1 14 LYD837 0.81 1.26E−03 3 18 LYD847 0.75 5.28E−03 3 40 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [mature leaf, lower and upper main stem, flower, main mature boll and fruit; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under normal conditions across Cotton accessions. P = p value.

Example 19 PRODUCTION OF BEAN TRANSCRIPTOME AND HIGH THROUGHPUT CORRELATION ANALYSIS WITH YIELD PARAMETERS USING 60K BEAN (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) OLIGONUCLEOTIDE MICRO-ARRAYS

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Bean oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60,000 Bean genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with yield components or plant architecture related parameters or plant vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 40 different commercialized bean varieties were analyzed and further used for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Analyzed Bean Tissues

Six tissues [leaf, Stem, lateral stem, lateral branch flower bud, lateral branch pod with seeds and meristem] growing under normal conditions [field experiment, normal growth conditions which included irrigation with water 2-3 times a week with 524 m³ water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period, and fertilization of 16 units nitrogen per dunam given in the first month of the growth period] were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above.

For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 148 below.

TABLE 148 Bean transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID Lateral branch flower bud at flowering stage under normal 1 growth conditions Lateral branch pod with seeds at pod setting stage under normal 2 growth conditions Lateral stem at pod setting stage under normal growth 3 conditions Lateral stem at flowering stage under normal growth conditions 4 Leaf at pod setting stage under normal growth conditions 5 Leaf at flowering stage under normal growth conditions 6 Leaf at vegetative stage under normal growth conditions 7 Meristem at vegetative stage under normal growth conditions 8 stem at vegetative stage under normal growth conditions 9 Provided are the bean transcriptome expression sets. Lateral branch flower bud = flower bud from vegetative branch; Lateral branch pod with seeds = pod with seeds from vegetative branch; Lateral stem = stem from vegetative branch.

Bean Yield Components and Vigor Related Parameters Assessment

40 Bean varieties were grown in five repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Bean seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal conditions until harvest. Plants were continuously phenotyped during the growth period and at harvest (Table 149). The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

The collected data parameters were as follows:

% Canopy coverage—percent Canopy coverage at grain filling stage, R1 flowering stage and at vegetative stage. The % Canopy coverage is calculated using Formula XXXII above.

1000 seed weight [gr]—At the end of the experiment all seeds from all plots were collected and weighted and the weight of 1000 were calculated.

Days till 50% flowering [days]—number of days till 50% flowering for each plot.

Avr shoot DW—At the end of the experiment, the shoot material was collected, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Big pods FW per plant (PS) [gr]—1 meter big pods fresh weight at pod setting divided by the number of plants.

Big pods num per plant (PS)—number of pods at development stage of R3-4 period above 4 cm per plant at pod setting.

Small pods FW per plant (PS) [gr]—1 meter small pods fresh weight at pod setting divided by the number of plants.

Small pods num per plant (PS)—number of pods at development stage of R3-4 period below 4 cm per plant at pod setting.

Pod Area [Cm²]—At development stage of R3-4 period pods of three plants were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The pod area above 4 cm and below 4 cm was measured from those images and was divided by the number of pods.

Pod Length and Pod width [cm]—At development stage of R3-4 period pods of three plants were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of pod lengths/or width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of pods.

Num of lateral branches per plant [value/plant]—number of lateral branches per plant at vegetative stage (average of two plants per plot) and at harvest (average of three plants per plot).

Relative growth rate [cm/day]: the relative growth rate (RGR) of Plant Height was calculated using Formula III above.

Leaf area per plant (PS) [cm²]=Total leaf area of 3 plants in a plot at pod setting. Measurement was performed using a Leaf area-meter.

Specific leaf area (PS) [cm²/gr]—leaf area per leaf dry weight at pod set.

Leaf form—Leaf length (cm)/leaf width (cm); average of two plants per plot.

Leaf number per plant (PS)—Plants were characterized for leaf number during pod setting stage. Plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of 3 selected plants per plot.

Plant height [cm]—Plants were characterized for height during growing period at 3 time points. In each measure, plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height of main stem was measured from first node above ground to last node before apex.

Seed yield per area (H)[gr]—1 meter seeds weight at harvest.

Seed yield per plant (H)[gr]—Average seeds weight per plant at harvest in 1 meter plot.

Seeds num per area (H)—1 meter plot seeds number at harvest.

Total seeds per plant (H)—Seeds number on lateral branch per plant+Seeds number on main branch per plant at harvest, average of three plants per plot.

Total seeds weight per plant (PS) [g]—Seeds weight on lateral branch+Seeds weight on main branch at pod set per plant, average of three plants per plot.

Small pods FW per plant (PS)—Average small pods (below 4 cm) fresh weight per plant at pod setting per meter.

Small pods num per plant (PS)—Number of Pods below 4 cm per plant at pod setting, average of two plants per plot.

SPAD—Plants were characterized for SPAD rate during growing period at grain filling stage and vegetative stage. Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 64 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Stem width (R2F)[mm]—width of the stem of the first node at R2 flowering stage, average of two plants per plot.

Total pods num per plant (H), (PS)—Pods number on lateral branch per plant+Pods number on main branch per plant at pod setting and at harvest, average of three plants per plot.

Total pods DW per plant (H) [gr]—Pods dry weight on main branch per plant+Pods dry weight on lateral branch per plant at harvest, average of three plants per plot.

Total pods FW per plant (PS) [gr]—Average pods fresh weight on lateral branch+Pods weight on main branch at pod setting.

Pods weight per plant (RP) (H) [gr]—Average pods weight per plant at harvest in 1 meter.

Total seeds per plant (H), (PS)—Seeds number on lateral branch per plant+Seeds number on main branch per plant at pod setting and at harvest. average of three plants per plot.

Total seeds num per pod (H), (PS)—Total seeds num per plant divided in total pods num per plant, average of three plants per plot.

Vegetative FW and DW per plant (PS) [gr/plant]—total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots and pods) before and after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours at pod set, average of three plants per plot.

Vigor till flowering [g/day]—Relative growth rate (RGR) of shoot DW=Regression coefficient of shoot DW along time course (two measurements at vegetative stage and one measurement at flowering stage).

Vigor post flowering [g/day]—Relative growth rate (RGR) of shoot DW=Regression coefficient of shoot DW measurements along time course (one measurement at flowering stage and two measurements at grain filling stage).

Experimental Results

40 different bean varieties lines 1-40 were grown and characterized for 48 parameters as specified above. Among the 40 varieties, 16 varieties are “fine” and “extra fine”. The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 150-154 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets and the average parameters was conducted (Table 157). Follow, results were integrated to the database. Correlations were calculated across all 40 lines. The phenotypic data of all 40 lines is provided in Tables 150-154 below. The correlation data of all 40 lines is provided in Table 157 below. The phenotypic data of “fine” and “extra fine” lines is provided in Tables 155-156 below. The correlation data of “fine” and “extra fine” lines is provided in Table 158 below.

TABLE 149 Bean correlated parameters (vectors) Correlation Correlated parameter with ID % Canopy coverage (GF) 1 % Canopy coverage (R1F) 2 % Canopy coverage (V) 3 1000 seed weight [gr] 4 Avr shoot DW (EGF) [gr] 5 Avr shoot DW (R2F) [gr] 6 Avr shoot DW (V) [gr] 7 Big pods FW per plant (PS) (RP) [gr] 8 Big pods num per plant (PS) [gr] 9 CV(Pod_Length) 10 CV(Pod_Length_Below_4 cm) 11 Height Rate 12 Leaf Length 13 Leaf Width 14 Leaf area per plant (PS) 15 Leaf form 16 Leaf num per plant (PS) 17 Num of lateral branches per plant (H) 18 Num of lateral branches per plant (V) 19 PAR_LAI (EGF) 20 PAR_LAI (LGF) 21 PAR_LAI (R1F) 22 Plant height (GF) 23 Plant height (V2-V3) 24 Plant height (V4-V5) 25 Pods weight per plant (RP) (H) [gr] 26 SPAD (GF) 27 SPAD (V) 28 Seed yield per area (H) (RP) [gr] 29 Seed yield per plant (RP) (H) [gr] 30 Seeds num per area (H) (RP) 31 Small pods FW per plant (PS) (RP) [gr] 32 Small pods num per plant (PS) 33 Specific leaf area (PS) 34 Stem width (R2F) 35 Total pods DW per plant (H) [gr] 36 Total pods num per plant (H) 37 Total pods num per plant (PS) 38 Total pods weight per plant (PS) [gr] 39 Total seeds num per pod (H) 40 Total seeds num per pod (PS) 41 Total seeds per plant (H) 42 Total seeds per plant (PS) 43 Total seeds weight per plant (PS) [gr] 44 Vegetative DW per plant (PS) [gr] 45 Vegetative FW per plant (PS) [gr] 46 Vigor post flowering 47 Vigor till flowering 48 Provided are the Bean correlated parameters (vectors). “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “PAR” = Photosynthetically active radiation; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “normal” = standard growth conditions; “GF” = Grain filling; “RIF” = Flowering in R1 stage; “V” = Vegetative stage; “EGF” = Early grain filling; “R2F” = Flowering in R2 stage; “PS” = Pod setting; “RP” = Rest of the plot; “H” = Harvest; “LGF” = Late grain filling; “V2-V3” = Vegetative stages 2-3; “V4-V5” = Vegetative stages 4-5.

TABLE 150 Measured parameters in bean varieties (lines 1-8) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 88.66 87.35 78.24 91.02 NA 80.76 76.70 90.29 2 89.59 82.80 66.40 78.87 79.25 72.28 82.77 90.49 3 70.53 61.65 56.46 58.56 65.39 38.98 70.54 83.64 4 94.43 151.19 145.91 117.59 154.23 69.63 142.25 123.75 5 16.19 28.63 14.04 18.66 23.18 19.29 18.43 27.82 6 7.33 10.29 7.58 8.28 9.42 6.37 11.51 11.85 7 0.30 0.42 0.30 0.33 0.41 0.24 0.44 0.44 8 NA NA NA 67.40 NA 38.22 NA 76.45 9 24.25 36.00 25.25 35.25 19.50 65.00 28.50 26.50 10 19.39 46.26 18.29 40.69 54.77 36.57 36.81 19.08 11 NA 53.11 NA 48.72 47.60 38.91 41.17 67.38 12 0.97 0.90 0.85 0.85 0.76 0.91 1.33 0.85 13 13.34 12.31 11.76 11.64 12.19 11.14 13.20 13.15 14 8.16 7.75 7.69 8.83 7.67 7.03 8.97 8.42 15 211.67 242.06 183.00 307.13 306.53 133.13 253.07 308.07 16 1.64 1.59 1.53 1.32 1.59 1.58 1.47 1.56 17 4.73 4.67 4.67 6.07 5.00 4.73 5.00 6.17 18 7.93 6.06 7.00 6.20 7.27 7.93 6.93 7.00 19 4.90 5.17 5.50 4.90 5.30 5.80 6.60 6.60 20 8.44 6.39 4.85 7.85 6.10 5.78 7.82 7.61 21 6.15 4.76 3.97 5.84 NA 4.38 4.03 4.01 22 3.27 3.43 2.05 3.06 3.21 1.33 4.11 5.01 23 36.84 31.98 30.76 34.83 34.37 31.52 51.66 37.71 24 4.39 5.81 4.53 4.80 5.19 3.68 6.41 5.75 25 11.43 10.57 8.33 11.17 14.79 7.60 17.50 16.57 26 11.67 20.34 15.07 15.20 20.20 15.96 14.36 23.07 27 40.19 38.43 34.50 36.22 38.60 37.68 40.53 NA 28 36.00 40.03 30.82 39.44 33.66 31.41 35.44 40.15 29 342.44 243.25 284.35 457.16 493.65 196.69 457.67 430.61 30 6.31 4.73 8.70 8.29 9.28 4.53 8.40 9.20 31 3635.20 1588.67 1958.33 3879.60 3207.60 2875.20 3218.20 3485.80 32 0.62 2.16 1.52 2.06 0.72 1.15 0.87 0.60 33 0.50 3.75 0.25 6.00 4.75 9.50 1.75 1.50 34 226.25 226.14 211.39 222.25 207.28 213.00 200.97 207.31 35 5.79 5.65 6.14 5.84 6.01 5.40 6.10 5.83 36 12.76 15.64 15.42 20.71 16.54 13.89 19.23 30.42 37 27.13 19.35 17.56 24.73 17.93 46.07 18.53 38.27 38 33.07 24.67 29.67 33.93 16.80 31.58 27.50 20.94 39 32.96 122.68 60.41 105.04 40.17 61.14 50.37 33.15 40 3.32 3.32 3.92 4.68 3.94 2.81 4.46 3.93 41 2.64 2.22 3.94 2.35 4.13 1.02 3.66 0.63 42 90.47 64.18 70.22 111.33 67.67 128.60 81.00 151.80 43 87.60 51.87 117.20 79.00 68.87 29.38 92.60 9.17 44 NA NA NA 3.45 NA 0.50 NA 0.17 45 16.30 NA 14.80 13.53 11.36 18.80 16.38 12.64 46 91.61 62.45 81.49 65.65 64.54 61.83 85.77 71.07 47 0.92 1.26 1.04 2.03 1.97 1.67 0.87 0.84 48 0.44 0.61 0.27 0.46 0.52 0.35 1.10 1.18

TABLE 151 Measured parameters in bean varieties (lines 9-16) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 Line-16 1 82.43 70.03 84.86 70.84 78.11 84.27 NA NA 2 76.92 76.66 85.93 82.06 77.77 73.78 76.45 71.73 3 69.36 68.78 53.71 64.00 71.82 46.91 51.88 61.04 4 149.23 191.85 124.61 151.53 149.49 66.31 93.68 147.99 5 15.82 31.36 26.38 24.74 20.06 14.44 18.02 22.65 6 9.34 10.13 8.74 8.66 9.26 5.42 7.40 13.47 7 0.38 0.44 0.33 0.39 0.34 0.21 0.35 0.48 8 NA NA NA NA NA 49.40 43.69 71.54 9 39.25 33.25 31.00 28.25 35.25 38.75 35.50 28.00 10 43.94 51.86 29.45 35.20 38.96 17.38 41.36 46.35 11 46.79 42.67 30.14 37.78 33.11 41.28 55.89 42.56 12 1.12 0.84 0.83 0.87 0.94 0.72 1.06 0.83 13 12.22 12.20 12.13 12.21 12.34 11.99 12.35 13.95 14 8.33 8.72 7.83 8.10 8.51 7.85 8.13 8.84 15 161.62 193.33 145.57 204.86 194.50 157.53 155.00 194.42 16 1.46 1.40 1.55 1.51 1.45 1.53 1.52 1.58 17 3.21 4.47 4.00 4.20 4.73 5.00 5.42 4.11 18 7.60 7.60 5.73 6.47 6.87 9.67 7.53 7.58 19 4.80 6.50 4.90 4.80 5.70 5.10 5.70 6.75 20 6.20 4.58 6.34 6.79 6.48 6.29 6.60 5.85 21 4.20 2.58 4.66 3.69 3.40 4.95 NA NA 22 4.26 2.88 2.22 2.99 2.84 1.58 1.74 2.73 23 43.67 34.58 32.94 38.28 37.63 28.88 39.83 32.98 24 6.25 7.10 5.16 5.95 5.94 3.93 4.50 5.85 25 14.07 14.37 10.37 13.20 12.07 8.40 9.67 11.17 26 14.94 17.78 13.45 11.85 14.54 17.06 15.12 20.37 27 43.58 NA 40.78 41.57 44.54 39.40 NA NA 28 30.39 38.56 37.48 36.32 35.10 35.76 35.01 35.68 29 528.80 449.28 403.09 381.85 521.60 198.09 371.13 260.02 30 9.46 10.86 8.19 6.86 8.72 4.02 6.55 6.99 31 3534.00 2342.20 3232 80 2522.40 3492.60 3012.20 3953.80 1768.25 32 1.57 0.00 1.22 1.68 1.76 0.80 1.27 1.79 33 6.00 6.00 1.50 1.75 4.50 1.00 5.00 3.50 34 218.94 205.59 187.77 242.99 169.32 257.81 238.23 208.44 35 5.69 5.99 5.67 5.51 5.26 4.91 6.00 6.04 36 19.10 29.78 24.08 15.14 13.05 15.31 10.75 26.02 37 22.53 24.50 22.27 18.40 15.80 38.27 18.86 24.17 38 22.33 19.33 22.93 24.87 25.00 46.00 24.33 18.00 39 92.90 3.26 66.44 97.85 105.58 41.19 81.76 67.21 40 3.54 3.85 5.33 4.00 3.91 3.09 3.77 3.78 41 3.58 1.45 4.82 3.54 3.50 1.61 0.81 0.74 42 77.40 95.87 120.80 72.47 60.40 138.20 70.53 92.17 43 79.80 29.21 96.73 88.40 87.89 77.93 20.00 14.00 44 NA NA NA NA NA 2.88 0.39 0.86 45 13.66 NA 18.27 14.80 14.49 17.03 9.99 7.13 46 74.93 57.59 87.49 74.52 68.16 77.53 56.83 69.96 47 0.95 1.31 2.16 1.46 1.04 1.35 NA NA 48 0.51 0.51 0.63 0.52 0.54 0.38 0.39 1.16

TABLE 152 Measured parameters in bean varieties (lines 17-24) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-17 Line-18 Line-19 Line-20 Line-21 Line-22 Line-23 Line-24 1 85.44 NA 73.90 74.34 73.43 66.50 84.42 87.02 2 88.76 91.48 91.63 81.98 91.83 72.86 83.06 92.96 3 68.87 82.92 59.82 55.76 76.95 65.28 64.09 73.52 4 144.60 380.80 72.75 186.27 185.58 107.37 121.34 205.43 5 23.50 26.63 15.58 33.63 35.09 31.03 18.65 32.50 6 8.30 11.98 8.02 10.31 13.50 9.34 6.97 10.69 7 0.39 0.93 0.24 0.34 0.59 0.38 0.36 0.51 8 NA NA NA 110.03 NA 49.94 49.06 NA 9 26.25 19.00 49.75 31.00 37.75 22.25 23.25 24.25 10 40.09 35.22 42.84 46.31 52.08 22.62 32.83 26.57 11 35.03 36.25 28.70 34.90 36.98 NA 51.24 16.45 12 0.83 0.90 0.81 1.00 1.06 1.07 1.18 0.71 13 12.64 10.70 12.64 12.32 11.11 11.99 12.79 13.98 14 8.47 7.92 7.78 8.04 7.69 7.61 7.52 8.93 15 211.60 529.13 192.00 206.36 305.93 273.47 180.73 197.20 16 1.49 1.35 1.63 1.53 1.45 1.58 1.70 1.57 17 4.40 8.33 5.87 4.83 4.27 6.13 4.13 3.80 18 8.87 5.73 9.20 6.87 7.60 8.87 9.00 7.53 19 4.20 7.40 5.50 4.63 3.89 6.00 6.00 5.00 20 6.51 6.70 6.74 5.91 5.56 6.77 7.02 8.15 21 4.89 NA 3.73 3.69 3.59 2.88 5.16 4.49 22 3.82 5.59 2.25 2.40 4.79 3.34 3.63 3.43 23 32.26 39.72 30.44 38.68 43.13 41.27 44.56 29.97 24 4.28 9.29 4.68 5.55 7.06 6.16 5.54 7.23 25 10.47 25.33 11.23 12.67 18.33 15.33 11.67 13.30 26 16.39 16.43 19.48 21.19 18.02 18.88 15.89 21.26 27 35.16 NA NA 41.68 42.06 43.01 42.34 31.11 28 32.53 34.72 35.75 32.77 37.16 35.13 34.16 31.92 29 550.81 595.35 431.52 568.44 526.18 533.60 482.22 456.91 30 9.63 10.35 7.92 12.65 11.08 9.62 9.05 12.66 31 3804.20 1569.60 5946.60 3054.60 3368.60 4920.20 3978.60 2220.60 32 1.57 0.87 0.00 2.40 2.68 0.73 1.23 0.84 33 3.00 1.50 8.75 5.00 7.00 0.50 1.75 0.50 34 216.30 246.68 248.17 192.00 200.55 237.69 220.62 223.74 35 5.39 5.98 5.29 5.24 6.13 5.54 5.54 5.76 36 23.61 29.91 21.88 31.96 27.07 23.49 18.86 35.40 37 24.40 13.80 44.07 25.67 23.42 33.93 30.00 25.53 38 23.67 13.80 30.27 31.67 26.56 27.33 22.25 24.80 39 73.38 53.96 2.98 85.80 144.79 42.96 82.63 38.90 40 4.33 3.26 3.87 3.75 4.05 3.78 3.66 4.16 41 0.68 2.63 1.58 1.72 3.15 3.15 2.52 2.45 42 108.57 45.93 168.40 101.14 94.27 128.80 98.53 107.67 43 18.50 34.73 50.13 71.08 79.58 84.60 58.55 75.20 44 NA NA NA 2.76 NA 2.30 1.53 NA 45 8.33 9.80 12.29 11.46 17.94 13.71 NA 18.26 46 60.35 67.95 47.66 76.06 79.67 70.77 70.87 108.68 47 1.22 1.37 1.52 NA 0.54 1.39 0.84 0.87 48 0.41 0.65 0.45 0.65 0.85 0.58 0.35 0.73

TABLE 153 Measured parameters in bean varieties (lines 25-32) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-25 Line-26 Line-27 Line-28 Line-29 Line-30 Line-31 Line-32 1 78.37 NA NA 83.89 NA NA NA 83.40 2 62.46 80.32 86.63 82.53 80.62 84.95 83.35 84.21 3 34.52 52.98 89.99 62.34 77.29 70.92 63.42 61.26 4 154.53 158.50 120.75 96.79 207.74 307.17 116.14 94.55 5 29.32 25.75 21.95 21.76 38.29 39.74 17.00 18.75 6 10.57 9.51 11.21 6.31 11.87 10.37 11.99 10.58 7 0.45 0.47 0.54 0.21 0.58 0.68 0.48 0.36 8 82.58 NA 76.18 NA 44.84 NA NA 61.66 9 43.50 19.75 28.25 32.00 29.25 21.75 32.75 34.17 10 38.16 33.83 31.13 46.08 55.37 29.67 28.64 20.56 11 36.95 5.30 51.21 37.34 45.13 NA 58.24 82.14 12 0.78 1.04 1.30 0.94 1.03 1.04 0.98 0.88 13 12.75 12.57 12.17 10.39 12.74 12.48 11.16 13.10 14 7.95 8.50 7.73 6.26 7.91 7.36 7.05 8.23 15 175.33 216.47 324.07 175.80 296.67 394.11 242.20 200.60 16 1.61 1.49 1.58 1.67 1.62 1.69 1.59 1.59 17 4.44 4.53 7.17 7.00 5.78 7.22 6.19 5.13 18 5.22 7.93 6.94 8.27 6.25 7.89 6.53 8.20 19 4.33 4.40 6.92 7.60 5.38 9.00 6.40 8.40 20 4.86 6.67 7.40 6.21 5.81 6.62 6.42 8.40 21 3.58 NA NA 4.78 NA NA NA 4.67 22 1.27 2.60 6.30 3.50 4.11 4.15 3.07 2.66 23 29.44 41.58 53.17 34.74 41.54 44.37 37.49 35.73 24 4.83 4.95 6.16 4.33 6.06 7.28 6.53 4.61 25 9.44 16.20 23.17 7.83 16.96 21.00 19.13 10.50 26 21.67 19.03 17.87 11.83 17.93 19.44 17.01 11.16 27 39.99 NA NA 34.00 NA NA NA 37.81 28 35.57 34.99 34.50 30.78 40.98 35.59 38.38 37.03 29 243.58 611.10 290.77 426.57 701.11 487.72 501.09 102.62 30 7.97 10.63 5.42 7.37 11.01 12.46 8.24 1.94 31 1317.00 3861.60 2416.50 4403.00 3368.50 1595.00 4356.20 1164.40 32 2.32 1.06 1.47 1.40 0.00 1.99 0.90 0.61 33 3.50 0.75 2.00 6.25 6.75 0.25 2.25 0.83 34 199.91 210.95 250.40 236.94 211.71 257.52 203.46 211.37 35 6.69 6.01 6.05 5.09 5.14 5.72 5.65 6.28 36 26.12 21.54 13.01 18.17 25.12 19.18 18.92 9.77 37 38.56 23.67 22.06 25.20 17.00 11.56 24.07 23.53 38 30.67 18.60 23.17 25.33 19.33 17.11 24.93 32.40 39 109.63 71.71 91.03 85.27 4.47 69.78 62.23 36.42 40 2.32 3.95 3.08 4.79 4.35 4.10 4.27 3.02 41 3.07 1.78 0.35 3.65 2.88 3.44 4.93 2.48 42 85.44 90.13 65.11 118.07 73.08 46.33 103.20 70.33 43 94.73 33.53 12.54 91.07 54.50 56.78 97.07 81.40 44 6.16 NA 1.01 NA 3.36 NA NA 3.74 45 17.51 7.69 8.80 11.70 13.20 15.19 12.91 18.53 46 105.57 57.22 66.76 61.77 75.61 82.68 69.11 86.77 47 0.97 1.56 1.65 0.93 1.28 NA NA 0.37 48 NA 0.44 0.69 0.39 0.66 NA 0.64 0.54

TABLE 154 Measured parameters in bean varieties (lines 33-40) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-33 Line-34 Line-35 Line-36 Line-37 Line-38 Line-39 Line-40 1 NA NA 88.31 79.59 NA 75.12 86.49 83.55 2 73.07 86.20 85.38 71.41 87.69 68.05 78.62 83.74 3 38.21 80.07 69.51 40.26 77.04 26.24 52.90 83.07 4 82.93 442.79 140.28 111.76 172.62 70.74 332.33 234.20 5 14.78 30.35 17.92 18.54 27.13 15.10 42.93 33.72 6 7.35 8.81 9.00 7.44 10.39 5.21 11.57 14.47 7 0.20 0.88 0.34 0.30 0.53 0.21 0.52 0.77 8 23.67 NA 54.00 89.21 60.88 NA NA NA 9 46.50 23.75 34.00 23.50 31.00 68.75 36.75 19.50 10 46.23 50.20 32.68 23.70 61.33 22.64 25.53 29.43 11 44.70 48.77 26.60 NA 35.90 71.49 18.99 7.42 12 0.79 0.94 0.98 0.96 1.03 0.71 1.02 1.59 13 11.79 13.38 11.47 11.63 13.44 12.88 12.46 11.64 14 7.10 8.56 8.12 7.33 8.47 8.68 8.12 8.13 15 174.00 442.20 197.27 146.89 210.36 61.67 288.78 463.80 16 1.66 1.56 1.41 1.59 1.59 1.48 1.54 1.43 17 4.53 7.87 5.83 5.11 5.47 3.64 6.72 7.80 18 6.93 6.67 7.40 8.67 6.67 10.67 6.60 7.33 19 6.20 5.00 6.20 6.00 5.60 4.60 6.83 6.50 20 5.11 7.14 7.54 4.66 5.71 4.56 6.59 6.65 21 NA NA 5.55 4.20 NA 4.01 4.92 4.87 22 1.14 4.89 4.29 1.28 4.73 0.76 2.32 5.49 23 29.54 45.00 36.67 34.89 39.58 26.25 40.51 60.87 24 3.46 9.08 4.25 4.98 6.69 3.50 5.44 6.36 25 8.70 25.73 13.07 8.72 17.17 5.90 12.47 22.70 26 12.83 17.06 15.57 20.16 18.73 19.53 23.90 23.34 27 NA NA 37.33 31.09 NA 34.70 32.23 39.56 28 34.21 31.77 33.73 26.07 34.14 29.34 32.16 37.90 29 170.90 623.84 418.30 334.59 551.91 330.59 604.79 695.47 30 3.70 10.27 8.21 9.76 10.68 10.16 16.19 15.15 31 2036.80 1410.20 2980.60 2987.20 3196.80 4661.80 1823.80 3141.00 32 0.00 0.00 1.36 1.66 0.00 1.03 1.70 0.90 33 9.50 5.50 2.00 0.00 9.00 3.25 1.50 1.50 34 255.60 271.09 234.43 228.00 266.51 251.56 239.50 223.15 35 5.55 5.18 5.94 5.64 5.00 4.63 7.15 6.32 36 23.52 31.44 17.47 24.60 25.46 28.08 37.91 28.98 37 63.57 13.93 19.53 24.53 18.47 43.93 27.00 20.13 38 26.87 13.73 23.00 22.33 11.92 43.40 32.00 22.27 39 1.79 3.03 83.19 52.44 3.82 40.39 68.98 53.52 40 1.82 3.39 3.76 5.30 4.92 5.12 2.89 4.23 41 1.12 1.79 2.47 1.83 1.28 1.42 1.91 3.05 42 111.93 47.87 73.20 126.73 93.20 224.00 76.33 84.73 43 31.71 22.87 57.07 45.43 16.47 62.29 59.33 58.80 44 0.30 NA 1.67 1.54 1.01 NA NA NA 45 10.76 14.31 11.87 17.40 NA 14.32 27.62 14.82 46 52.76 71.50 80.20 116.85 59.77 71.51 156.73 80.57 47 1.39 NA 1.58 1.43 NA 1.34 1.36 2.03 48 0.42 0.60 0.54 0.36 0.68 0.25 0.79 0.89

TABLE 155 Measured parameters in bean varieties (“fine” and “extra fine”) (lines 1-8) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 88.66 91.02 80.76 90.29 84.27 NA 73.90 66.50 2 89.59 78.87 72.28 90.49 73.78 76.45 91.63 72.86 3 70.53 58.56 38.98 83.64 46.91 51.88 59.82 65.28 4 94.43 117.59 69.63 123.75 66.31 93.68 72.75 107.37 5 16.19 18.66 19.29 27.82 14.44 18.02 15.58 31.03 6 7.33 8.28 6.37 11.85 5.42 7.40 8.02 9.34 7 0.30 0.33 0.24 0.44 0.21 0.35 0.24 0.38 8 NA 67.40 38.22 76.45 49.40 43.69 NA 49.94 9 24.25 35.25 65.00 26.50 38.75 35.50 49.75 22.25 10 19.39 40.69 36.57 19.08 17.38 41.36 42.84 22.62 11 NA 48.72 38.91 67.38 41.28 55.89 28.70 NA 12 0.97 0.85 0.91 0.85 0.72 1.06 0.81 1.07 13 13.34 11.64 11.14 13.15 11.99 12.35 12.64 11.99 14 8.16 8.83 7.03 8.42 7.85 8.13 7.78 7.61 15 211.67 307.13 133.13 308.07 157.53 155.00 192.00 273.47 16 1.64 1.32 1.58 1.56 1.53 1.52 1.63 1.58 17 4.73 6.07 4.73 6.17 5.00 5.42 5.87 6.13 18 7.93 6.20 7.93 7.00 9.67 7.53 9.20 8.87 19 4.90 4.90 5.80 6.60 5.10 5.70 5.50 6.00 20 8.44 7.85 5.78 7.61 6.29 6.60 6.74 6.77 21 6.15 5.84 4.38 4.01 4.95 NA 3.73 2.88 22 3.27 3.06 1.33 5.01 1.58 1.74 2.25 3.34 23 36.84 34.83 31.52 37.71 28.88 39.83 30.44 41.27 24 4.39 4.80 3.68 5.75 3.93 4.50 4.68 6.16 25 11.43 11.17 7.60 16.57 8.40 9.67 11.23 15.33 26 11.67 15.20 15.96 23.07 17.06 15.12 19.48 18.88 27 40.19 36.22 37.68 NA 39.40 NA NA 43.01 28 36.00 39.44 31.41 40.15 35.76 35.01 35.75 35.13 29 342.44 457.16 196.69 430.61 198.09 371.13 431.52 533.60 30 6.31 8.29 4.53 9.20 4.02 6.55 7.92 9.62 31 3635.20 3879.60 2875.20 3485.80 3012.20 3953.80 5946.60 4920.20 32 0.62 2.06 1.15 0.60 0.80 1.27 0.00 0.73 33 0.50 6.00 9.50 1.50 1.00 5.00 8.75 0.50 34 226.25 222.25 213.00 207.31 257.81 238.23 248.17 237.69 35 5.79 5.84 5.40 5.83 4.91 6.00 5.29 5.54 36 12.76 20.71 13.89 30.42 15.31 10.75 21.88 23.49 37 27.13 24.73 46.07 38.27 38.27 18.86 44.07 33.93 38 33.07 33.93 31.58 20.94 46.00 24.33 30.27 27.33 39 32.96 105.04 61.14 33.15 41.19 81.76 2.98 42.96 40 3.32 4.68 2.81 3.93 3.09 3.77 3.87 3.78 41 2.64 2.35 1.02 0.63 1.61 0.81 1.58 3.15 42 90.47 111.33 128.60 151.80 138.20 70.53 168.40 128.80 43 87.60 79.00 29.38 9.17 77.93 20.00 50.13 84.60 44 NA 3.45 0.50 0.17 2.88 0.39 NA 2.30 45 16.30 13.53 18.80 12.64 17.03 9.99 12.29 13.71 46 91.61 65.65 61.83 71.07 77.53 56.83 47.66 70.77 47 0.92 2.03 1.67 0.84 1.35 NA 1.52 1.39 48 0.44 0.46 0.35 1.18 0.38 0.39 0.45 0.58

TABLE 156 Measured parameters in bean varieties (“fine” and “extra fine”) (lines 9-16) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 Line-16 1 84.42 NA 83.89 NA 83.40 NA 79.59 75.12 2 83.06 86.63 82.53 83.35 84.21 73.07 71.41 68.05 3 64.09 89.99 62.34 63.42 61.26 38.21 40.26 26.24 4 121.34 120.75 96.79 116.14 94.55 82.93 111.76 70.74 5 18.65 21.95 21.76 17.00 18.75 14.78 18.54 15.10 6 6.97 11.21 6.31 11.99 10.58 7.35 7.44 5.21 7 0.36 0.54 0.21 0.48 0.36 0.20 0.30 0.21 8 49.06 76.18 NA NA 61.66 23.67 89.21 NA 9 23.25 28.25 32.00 32.75 34.17 46.50 23.50 68.75 10 32.83 31.13 46.08 28.64 20.56 46.23 23.70 22.64 11 51.24 51.21 37.34 58.24 82.14 44.70 NA 71.49 12 1.18 1.30 0.94 0.98 0.88 0.79 0.96 0.71 13 12.79 12.17 10.39 11.16 13.10 11.79 11.63 12.88 14 7.52 7.73 6.26 7.05 8.23 7.10 7.33 8.68 15 180.73 324.07 175.80 242.20 200.60 174.00 146.89 61.67 16 1.70 1.58 1.67 1.59 1.59 1.66 1.59 1.48 17 4.13 7.17 7.00 6.19 5.13 4.53 5.11 3.64 18 9.00 6.94 8.27 6.53 8.20 6.93 8.67 10.67 19 6.00 6.92 7.60 6.40 8.40 6.20 6.00 4.60 20 7.02 7.40 6.21 6.42 8.40 5.11 4.66 4.56 21 5.16 NA 4.78 NA 4.67 NA 4.20 4.01 22 3.63 6.30 3.50 3.07 2.66 1.14 1.28 0.76 23 44.56 53.17 34.74 37.49 35.73 29.54 34.89 26.25 24 5.54 6.16 4.33 6.53 4.61 3.46 4.98 3.50 25 11.67 23.17 7.83 19.13 10.50 8.70 8.72 5.90 26 15.89 17.87 11.83 17.01 11.16 12.83 20.16 19.53 27 42.34 NA 34.00 NA 37.81 NA 31.09 34.70 28 34.16 34.50 30.78 38.38 37.03 34.21 26.07 29.34 29 482.22 290.77 426.57 501.09 102.62 170.90 334.59 330.59 30 9.05 5.42 7.37 8.24 1.94 3.70 9.76 10.16 31 3978.60 2416.50 4403.00 4356.20 1164.40 2036.80 2987.20 4661.80 32 1.23 1.47 1.40 0.90 0.61 0.00 1.66 1.03 33 1.75 2.00 6.25 2.25 0.83 9.50 0.00 3.25 34 220.62 250.40 236.94 203.46 211.37 255.60 228.00 251.56 35 5.54 6.05 5.09 5.65 6.28 5.55 5.64 4.63 36 18.86 13.01 18.17 18.92 9.77 23.52 24.60 28.08 37 30.00 22.06 25.20 24.07 23.53 63.57 24.53 43.93 38 22.25 23.17 25.33 24.93 32.40 26.87 22.33 43.40 39 82.63 91.03 85.27 62.23 36.42 1.79 52.44 40.39 40 3.66 3.08 4.79 4.27 3.02 1.82 5.30 5.12 41 2.52 0.35 3.65 4.93 2.48 1.12 1.83 1.42 42 98.53 65.11 118.07 103.20 70.33 111.93 126.73 224.00 43 58.55 12.54 91.07 97.07 81.40 31.71 45.43 62.29 44 1.53 1.01 NA NA 3.74 0.30 1.54 NA 45 NA 8.80 11.70 12.91 18.53 10.76 17.40 14.32 46 70.87 66.76 61.77 69.11 86.77 52.76 116.85 71.51 47 0.84 1.65 0.93 NA 0.37 1.39 1.43 1.34 48 0.35 0.69 0.39 0.64 0.54 0.42 0.36 0.25

TABLE 157 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across 40 bean varieties Corr. Gene Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP84 0.72 1.22E−02 4 27 LGP84 0.79 4.04E−03 9 27 LYD701 0.73 6.02E−04 2 9 LYD702 0.74 1.79E−03 5 44 LYD702 0.75 6.21E−07 6 38 LYD705 0.85 1.18E−07 5 46 LYD706 0.73 2.69E−04 9 9 LYD706 0.79 4.18E−04 5 44 LYD713 0.83 1.92E−05 2 25 LYD713 0.75 3.27E−04 2 23 LYD717 0.71 2.24E−04 7 29 LYD718 0.77 6.00E−05 9 33 LYD720 0.72 1.28E−02 4 27 LYD722 0.76 2.37E−04 2 43 LYD722 0.77 8.76E−04 2 44 LYD723 0.76 1.06E−03 2 44 LYD723 0.75 1.39E−03 5 44 LYD725 0.71 4.61E−03 2 45 LYD726 0.71 3.33E−03 7 8 LYD729 0.72 3.83E−04 4 28 LYD731 0.82 3.47E−05 2 4 LYD731 0.7 2.61E−04 7 22 LYD733 0.72 2.27E−04 6 1 LYD738 0.8 7.29E−05 2 28 LYD739 0.71 1.04E−03 2 9 LYD739 0.75 1.21E−03 7 8 LYD742 0.71 9.42E−04 2 19 LYD742 0.7 5.50E−04 9 23 LYD745 0.75 6.72E−05 7 17 LYD748 0.75 2.99E−04 2 2 LYD749 0.71 3.08E−04 3 48 LYD752 0.77 7.05E−04 5 21 LYD753 0.72 6.87E−04 2 43 LYD753 0.8 3.10E−04 2 44 LYD753 0.81 2.86E−04 5 44 LYD754 0.83 6.15E−06 9 37 LYD754 0.76 1.71E−05 5 37 LYD755 0.76 4.20E−03 5 27 LYD757 0.75 7.31E−03 3 8 LYD765 0.71 1.04E−06 1 37 LYD765 0.7 1.14E−03 2 38 LYD765 0.73 1.53E−04 3 22 LYD767 0.76 6.24E−04 1 44 LYD768 0.77 4.81E−04 2 11 LYD769 0.71 9.51E−04 2 3 LYD773 0.71 9.72E−04 2 46 LYD776 0.78 5.36E−05 4 13 LYD777 0.7 2.30E−02 2 27 LYD780 0.71 3.26E−03 5 44 LYD782 0.74 4.11E−03 2 21 LYD783 0.76 1.03E−04 9 4 LYD785 0.8 2.42E−06 5 46 LYD788 0.8 2.14E−04 3 21 LYD791 0.8 2.36E−05 9 33 LYD795 0.84 1.33E−03 4 27 LYD797 0.73 1.02E−02 3 44 LYD798 0.71 1.38E−03 9 44 LYD803 0.71 4.87E−04 4 7 LYD809 0.75 2.44E−05 5 46 LYD810 0.71 2.12E−04 7 4 LYD811 0.72 8.51E−04 2 38 LYD812 0.77 5.47E−04 1 8 LYD815 0.71 1.09E−04 5 7 LYD817 0.78 1.26E−04 4 11 LYD818 0.71 1.08E−06 1 4 LYD822 0.77 9.28E−06 5 24 LYD822 0.74 3.64E−05 5 25 LYD822 0.71 1.03E−04 5 15 LYD826 0.73 1.01E−02 3 44 LYD829 0.77 5.02E−05 3 4 LYD830 0.72 6.86E−05 5 43 LYD927 0.7 1.85E−06 8 20 LGP84 0.76 1.06E−04 4 46 LGP85 0.72 3.25E−04 9 40 LYD702 0.81 1.50E−06 5 43 LYD702 0.73 2.86E−03 3 27 LYD703 0.87 1.17E−03 2 27 LYD705 0.77 7.09E−04 5 44 LYD706 0.8 2.55E−06 5 43 LYD713 0.72 1.70E−03 1 44 LYD713 0.73 1.55E−02 2 27 LYD717 0.73 2.62E−04 9 4 LYD718 0.78 3.29E−04 1 44 LYD719 0.76 5.46E−05 3 46 LYD721 0.76 1.18E−04 9 33 LYD722 0.72 6.72E−04 2 41 LYD722 0.76 1.04E−04 7 48 LYD723 0.71 9.72E−05 5 43 LYD723 0.71 1.01E−03 7 45 LYD725 0.73 1.31E−04 7 38 LYD727 0.75 2.95E−03 2 1 LYD729 0.75 3.10E−03 2 21 LYD731 0.76 2.75E−04 2 7 LYD731 0.75 5.02E−03 6 8 LYD738 0.7 1.15E−03 2 14 LYD739 0.72 1.74E−04 7 5 LYD739 0.72 1.67E−04 7 46 LYD742 0.73 2.42E−04 9 20 LYD745 0.75 1.26E−04 9 42 LYD747 0.77 8.34E−05 9 33 LYD749 0.7 2.41E−02 2 27 LYD750 0.73 2.36E−04 4 42 LYD752 0.72 2.60E−03 5 1 LYD753 0.76 2.79E−04 2 46 LYD753 0.74 3.04E−05 5 43 LYD754 0.75 1.52E−04 4 37 LYD754 0.73 5.42E−05 5 42 LYD755 0.75 1.35E−04 9 10 LYD756 0.7 5.38E−04 9 4 LYD761 0.72 2.50E−03 7 8 LYD765 0.73 2.92E−04 4 7 LYD765 0.72 3.84E−04 9 4 LYD765 0.79 1.87E−05 3 3 LYD768 0.71 9.74E−04 2 19 LYD768 0.84 2.20E−07 5 4 LYD769 0.78 2.06E−05 7 46 LYD771 0.73 5.44E−04 2 43 LYD774 0.75 2.52E−05 5 46 LYD776 0.73 5.17E−04 2 46 LYD777 0.7 5.59E−04 9 9 LYD780 0.71 3.35E−04 3 46 LYD782 0.71 6.28E−03 2 1 LYD783 0.71 1.44E−06 8 7 LYD788 0.71 6.72E−03 2 21 LYD791 0.73 2.87E−04 9 9 LYD794 0.73 3.42E−04 4 48 LYD796 0.76 6.14E−05 3 37 LYD798 0.71 4.06E−04 9 32 LYD798 0.83 1.32E−04 7 8 LYD803 0.72 2.29E−03 7 8 LYD810 0.76 2.92E−04 2 46 LYD810 0.7 2.84E−04 7 7 LYD811 0.84 2.52E−05 2 48 LYD815 0.7 1.30E−04 5 24 LYD816 0.75 1.33E−03 2 8 LYD817 0.72 8.38E−04 2 38 LYD821 0.72 6.98E−04 2 46 LYD822 0.74 4.11E−05 5 4 LYD822 0.78 6.34E−06 5 7 LYD823 0.73 2.86E−04 9 7 LYD827 0.72 6.55E−05 5 46 LYD829 0.73 1.98E−04 3 25 LYD830 0.77 7.63E−04 5 44 LYD930 0.79 2.88E−05 9 10 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, and plant architecture (Correlation vector (Cor))] under normal conditions across bean varieties. P = p value.

TABLE 158 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across 16 bean varieties (“fine” and “extra fine”) Corr. Gene Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP71 0.85 9.05E−04 2 46 LGP71 0.74 9.69E−03 3 45 LGP71 0.74 6.41E−03 6 18 LGP84 0.71 2.09E−03 1 6 LGP84 0.85 3.94E−04 4 46 LGP84 0.77 1.58E−02 2 21 LGP84 0.80 2.90E−02 9 27 LGP84 0.73 1.00E−02 9 8 LGP84 0.81 5.25E−02 5 27 LGP84 0.73 1.42E−03 8 7 LGP84 0.74 1.34E−02 7 13 LGP84 0.72 4.33E−02 3 11 LGP84 0.77 3.65E−03 6 26 LGP84 0.81 1.50E−03 6 30 LGP85 0.87 2.62E−04 4 48 LGP85 0.79 3.90E−03 2 46 LGP85 0.74 9.57E−03 5 5 LGP85 0.77 1.53E−02 7 8 LGP85 0.76 8.01E−02 6 27 LYD701 0.80 1.86E−04 1 9 LYD701 0.73 1.04E−02 2 24 LYD701 0.85 9.18E−04 2 25 LYD701 0.71 1.52E−02 2 7 LYD701 0.74 9.78E−03 2 3 LYD701 0.86 2.67E−03 9 21 LYD701 0.78 4.64E−03 3 33 LYD701 0.73 1.09E−02 3 48 LYD701 0.72 8.38E−03 6 33 LYD702 0.80 3.17E−03 5 41 LYD702 0.83 5.84E−03 5 44 LYD702 0.82 1.02E−03 6 18 LYD702 0.81 2.60E−02 6 44 LYD703 0.97 3.23E−04 2 27 LYD703 0.93 7.80E−03 5 27 LYD703 0.72 1.56E−03 8 5 LYD703 0.70 2.41E−03 8 3 LYD703 0.79 6.07E−03 7 20 LYD703 0.77 9.62E−03 7 14 LYD703 0.74 1.52E−02 7 48 LYD703 0.86 1.61E−03 7 3 LYD703 0.76 6.75E−03 3 28 LYD703 0.83 1.96E−02 3 27 LYD703 0.71 1.36E−02 3 6 LYD704 0.88 1.55E−03 9 21 LYD704 0.78 4.25E−03 5 41 LYD704 0.78 6.63E−02 6 27 LYD705 0.75 4.72E−03 4 34 LYD705 0.72 1.29E−02 5 41 LYD705 0.76 1.15E−02 7 2 LYD705 0.80 2.90E−03 3 45 LYD706 0.71 2.18E−03 1 31 LYD706 0.78 2.87E−03 9 33 LYD706 0.90 1.65E−04 5 41 LYD706 0.84 1.22E−03 3 46 LYD707 0.75 5.36E−03 4 43 LYD707 0.72 1.90E−02 2 44 LYD707 0.71 3.22E−02 5 44 LYD707 0.76 1.12E−02 7 40 LYD707 0.79 3.93E−03 3 46 LYD708 0.71 9.04E−03 4 10 LYD708 0.78 4.84E−03 2 20 LYD708 0.75 5.00E−02 2 27 LYD708 0.79 3.91E−03 2 22 LYD708 0.79 1.21E−02 9 21 LYD708 0.82 1.83E−03 5 33 LYD708 0.71 2.02E−02 7 34 LYD710 0.81 2.77E−03 2 43 LYD710 0.81 4.73E−03 2 44 LYD710 0.85 3.90E−03 5 44 LYD710 0.71 2.06E−02 7 28 LYD710 0.71 2.15E−02 7 15 LYD710 0.80 9.51E−03 7 1 LYD710 0.84 1.35E−03 3 43 LYD710 0.80 1.68E−02 3 44 LYD710 0.77 3.40E−03 6 20 LYD711 0.76 6.95E−04 1 42 LYD711 0.84 1.72E−02 3 27 LYD711 0.83 9.15E−04 6 37 LYD713 0.75 8.03E−03 2 2 LYD713 0.81 2.28E−03 2 20 LYD713 0.91 1.26E−04 2 25 LYD713 0.71 1.41E−02 2 12 LYD713 0.79 4.05E−03 2 17 LYD713 0.79 3.56E−03 2 3 LYD713 0.74 9.11E−03 2 6 LYD713 0.88 3.74E−04 2 13 LYD713 0.81 1.35E−03 9 33 LYD713 0.72 1.25E−02 5 17 LYD713 0.74 1.12E−03 8 5 LYD713 0.75 8.38E−03 3 35 LYD713 0.70 1.63E−02 3 7 LYD713 0.76 1.79E−02 3 1 LYD713 0.82 1.11E−03 6 19 LYD714 0.84 6.82E−04 4 28 LYD714 0.73 7.54E−03 4 15 LYD714 0.70 1.07E−02 4 6 LYD714 0.73 1.11E−02 2 14 LYD714 0.71 2.14E−02 7 15 LYD714 0.80 3.26E−03 3 43 LYD714 0.77 6.08E−03 3 41 LYD714 0.88 4.25E−03 6 21 LYD715 0.82 9.57E−04 9 32 LYD715 0.80 5.57E−03 7 19 LYD715 0.77 2.46E−02 7 11 LYD715 0.71 1.48E−02 3 16 LYD717 0.80 3.38E−03 4 45 LYD717 0.78 2.88E−03 9 4 LYD717 0.76 6.27E−03 5 40 LYD717 0.81 1.38E−03 6 4 LYD718 0.72 8.68E−03 4 41 LYD718 0.76 1.15E−02 2 44 LYD718 0.84 6.89E−04 9 33 LYD718 0.75 2.07E−02 9 1 LYD718 0.87 5.42E−04 5 41 LYD718 0.79 6.28E−03 7 2 LYD718 0.73 6.32E−02 7 27 LYD718 0.76 9.98E−03 7 3 LYD718 0.78 4.80E−03 3 4 LYD719 0.72 1.20E−02 4 45 LYD719 0.71 1.35E−02 4 44 LYD719 0.78 1.24E−02 9 1 LYD719 0.81 2.78E−03 5 43 LYD719 0.71 5.08E−02 3 8 LYD719 0.76 2.92E−02 3 11 LYD720 0.74 9.08E−03 2 5 LYD720 0.70 1.05E−02 9 32 LYD720 0.84 1.12E−03 5 43 LYD720 0.76 1.86E−02 5 44 LYD720 0.79 7.02E−03 7 14 LYD720 0.71 1.43E−02 3 28 LYD720 0.75 7.96E−03 3 48 LYD720 0.74 6.23E−03 6 39 LYD721 0.72 2.00E−02 2 44 LYD721 0.70 1.06E−02 9 10 LYD721 0.77 6.00E−03 5 43 LYD721 0.82 6.21E−03 5 44 LYD721 0.71 3.34E−02 7 1 LYD721 0.71 4.98E−02 6 21 LYD721 0.80 3.05E−02 6 8 LYD722 0.77 3.34E−03 4 34 LYD722 0.76 7.08E−03 2 41 LYD722 0.75 5.04E−03 9 14 LYD722 0.79 1.15E−02 9 1 LYD722 0.70 2.36E−02 7 26 LYD722 0.73 1.65E−02 7 15 LYD722 0.71 2.24E−02 7 17 LYD722 0.82 3.85E−03 7 3 LYD722 0.71 1.46E−02 3 28 LYD722 0.72 4.23E−02 3 11 LYD723 0.84 1.25E−03 2 41 LYD723 0.87 4.79E−04 5 43 LYD723 0.74 9.06E−03 5 38 LYD723 0.79 1.08E−02 7 1 LYD723 0.86 7.41E−04 3 41 LYD725 0.75 5.27E−03 4 46 LYD725 0.75 7.43E−03 5 34 LYD725 0.73 1.01E−02 3 43 LYD725 0.82 4.75E−02 6 27 LYD726 0.73 1.13E−02 2 24 LYD726 0.75 7.87E−03 2 7 LYD726 0.71 1.37E−02 2 17 LYD726 0.88 3.34E−04 2 3 LYD726 0.76 7.75E−02 5 27 LYD726 0.71 3.24E−02 7 8 LYD727 0.73 6.50E−03 4 28 LYD727 0.73 6.50E−03 9 39 LYD727 0.83 6.01E−03 9 1 LYD727 0.70 5.20E−02 5 1 LYD727 0.85 4.11E−03 3 21 LYD729 0.86 3.37E−04 4 28 LYD729 0.81 8.67E−03 2 21 LYD729 0.76 3.94E−03 9 32 LYD729 0.73 1.03E−02 9 8 LYD729 0.85 3.92E−03 5 44 LYD729 0.75 1.16E−02 7 14 LYD729 0.72 1.92E−02 7 22 LYD729 0.76 2.91E−02 7 11 LYD729 0.75 7.86E−03 3 31 LYD729 0.78 2.81E−03 6 12 LYD730 0.70 2.52E−03 1 41 LYD730 0.71 9.65E−03 4 37 LYD730 0.75 7.64E−03 2 28 LYD730 0.70 1.61E−02 2 13 LYD730 0.76 1.72E−02 9 21 LYD730 0.89 1.49E−03 9 1 LYD730 0.87 5.69E−04 5 41 LYD730 0.75 5.28E−03 6 26 LYD731 0.78 4.83E−03 4 8 LYD731 0.78 7.15E−03 7 22 LYD731 0.76 1.09E−02 7 3 LYD731 0.80 3.28E−03 3 4 LYD731 0.77 5.75E−03 3 46 LYD731 0.80 1.89E−03 6 22 LYD731 0.76 4.51E−03 6 3 LYD731 0.74 5.73E−02 6 8 LYD733 0.86 2.83E−03 9 21 LYD733 0.76 4.37E−03 9 31 LYD733 0.71 1.45E−02 5 43 LYD733 0.78 7.90E−03 7 28 LYD733 0.72 1.27E−02 3 2 LYD733 0.74 3.77E−02 6 1 LYD735 0.74 5.75E−02 4 27 LYD735 0.81 2.80E−02 9 27 LYD735 0.76 1.15E−02 7 25 LYD735 0.72 1.86E−02 7 5 LYD735 0.84 1.12E−03 3 5 LYD735 0.70 1.61E−02 3 6 LYD735 0.70 1.08E−02 6 17 LYD736 0.76 6.61E−03 5 26 LYD736 0.77 1.50E−02 7 8 LYD736 0.74 8.87E−03 3 43 LYD736 0.79 2.03E−02 3 44 LYD737 0.71 1.90E−03 1 6 LYD738 0.83 1.51E−03 2 20 LYD738 0.89 2.54E−04 2 14 LYD738 0.79 1.08E−02 2 11 LYD738 0.76 6.42E−03 5 40 LYD738 0.76 6.79E−03 3 48 LYD739 0.85 4.56E−04 4 4 LYD739 0.87 2.04E−04 4 7 LYD739 0.87 2.76E−04 4 22 LYD739 0.75 4.93E−03 4 23 LYD739 0.73 7.35E−03 4 6 LYD739 0.70 1.58E−02 2 37 LYD740 0.75 8.04E−04 1 35 LYD740 0.75 4.95E−03 4 28 LYD740 0.75 4.87E−03 9 24 LYD740 0.73 7.40E−03 9 7 LYD740 0.75 5.18E−03 9 48 LYD740 0.74 5.47E−03 9 3 LYD740 0.88 1.68E−04 9 6 LYD740 0.82 2.11E−03 5 4 LYD740 0.86 6.11E−04 5 25 LYD740 0.71 1.47E−02 5 30 LYD740 0.90 1.65E−04 5 22 LYD740 0.84 1.26E−03 5 23 LYD740 0.75 8.37E−03 5 6 LYD740 0.77 9.67E−03 7 20 LYD740 0.82 3.33E−03 7 7 LYD740 0.78 7.79E−03 7 3 LYD740 0.84 9.12E−03 7 11 LYD740 0.74 8.79E−03 3 46 LYD741 0.73 1.04E−02 5 18 LYD741 0.77 7.03E−02 5 27 LYD741 0.80 8.92E−03 7 1 LYD741 0.76 1.09E−02 7 13 LYD741 0.78 2.22E−02 6 21 LYD742 0.81 2.42E−03 2 19 LYD742 0.74 5.90E−03 9 2 LYD742 0.71 9.45E−03 9 25 LYD742 0.74 6.26E−03 9 12 LYD742 0.70 1.10E−02 9 3 LYD742 0.78 7.86E−03 9 11 LYD742 0.71 2.13E−03 8 13 LYD742 0.75 8.10E−03 3 9 LYD742 0.78 2.10E−02 3 11 LYD742 0.73 6.73E−03 6 9 LYD744 0.75 1.96E−02 9 21 LYD744 0.72 8.59E−03 9 37 LYD744 0.81 2.48E−03 3 48 LYD745 0.76 4.17E−03 9 42 LYD745 0.84 4.20E−03 9 1 LYD745 0.70 1.62E−02 5 41 LYD745 0.81 4.57E−03 7 14 LYD745 0.73 1.13E−02 3 32 LYD745 0.72 4.20E−02 3 8 LYD745 0.73 7.46E−03 6 12 LYD746 0.77 9.05E−03 9 11 LYD746 0.76 1.01E−02 7 28 LYD747 0.71 9.86E−03 4 14 LYD747 0.74 5.50E−03 4 46 LYD747 0.85 5.02E−04 9 33 LYD747 0.80 1.62E−02 5 21 LYD747 0.79 1.98E−02 6 21 LYD747 0.70 5.15E−02 6 1 LYD748 0.71 9.92E−03 4 28 LYD748 0.74 8.63E−03 2 22 LYD748 0.73 6.77E−03 9 24 LYD748 0.73 6.54E−03 9 25 LYD748 0.73 6.49E−03 9 12 LYD748 0.70 1.06E−02 9 3 LYD748 0.78 4.74E−03 5 48 LYD748 0.77 6.01E−03 5 3 LYD748 0.77 9.92E−03 7 48 LYD748 0.74 1.50E−02 7 3 LYD748 0.73 6.50E−03 6 46 LYD749 0.79 3.60E−03 2 25 LYD749 0.75 7.69E−03 2 5 LYD749 0.74 8.97E−03 2 22 LYD749 0.80 1.00E−02 9 21 LYD749 0.77 5.32E−03 5 41 LYD749 0.80 3.18E−03 3 48 LYD750 0.76 4.10E−03 9 12 LYD750 0.71 2.09E−02 7 22 LYD751 0.74 6.04E−03 4 20 LYD751 0.74 3.76E−02 5 21 LYD751 0.78 4.37E−03 5 40 LYD751 0.81 2.72E−03 3 15 LYD751 0.76 8.14E−02 6 27 LYD751 0.70 1.12E−02 6 23 LYD752 0.71 2.10E−02 7 19 LYD752 0.83 2.11E−02 3 27 LYD753 0.75 8.16E−03 2 41 LYD753 0.77 1.43E−02 9 1 LYD753 0.90 1.66E−04 5 41 LYD753 0.77 9.33E−03 7 2 LYD754 0.74 6.00E−03 4 37 LYD754 0.76 8.11E−02 5 27 LYD755 0.74 9.55E−04 1 12 LYD755 0.77 5.93E−03 5 38 LYD755 0.87 2.48E−03 7 21 LYD756 0.70 1.58E−02 4 8 LYD756 0.78 1.33E−02 9 1 LYD756 0.72 1.21E−02 5 17 LYD756 0.76 6.09E−03 3 43 LYD756 0.75 5.34E−03 6 39 LYD756 0.81 1.53E−03 6 23 LYD757 0.77 3.74E−03 9 10 LYD757 0.80 9.24E−03 5 8 LYD757 0.75 1.19E−02 7 22 LYD757 0.82 1.23E−02 3 8 LYD757 0.84 9.88E−03 6 1 LYD758 0.79 3.72E−03 3 42 LYD758 0.71 1.36E−02 3 31 LYD758 0.73 7.31E−03 6 42 LYD758 0.76 3.94E−03 6 36 LYD760 0.78 7.24E−03 1 27 LYD760 0.72 8.19E−03 4 33 LYD760 0.72 8.79E−03 9 32 LYD760 0.85 1.51E−02 9 27 LYD760 0.72 1.31E−02 5 5 LYD760 0.72 4.33E−02 3 11 LYD760 0.83 4.17E−02 6 27 LYD761 0.80 1.67E−03 9 32 LYD761 0.77 5.18E−03 5 6 LYD761 0.77 9.65E−03 7 40 LYD762 0.78 3.16E−04 1 4 LYD762 0.77 5.23E−03 2 3 LYD762 0.75 4.74E−03 9 39 LYD762 0.77 5.77E−03 5 13 LYD762 0.77 9.17E−03 7 13 LYD763 0.71 2.20E−03 1 19 LYD763 0.73 2.49E−02 9 21 LYD763 0.83 4.18E−02 5 27 LYD763 0.84 4.96E−03 7 8 LYD763 0.72 1.93E−02 7 40 LYD763 0.74 1.42E−02 6 11 LYD764 0.83 1.61E−03 5 43 LYD764 0.71 1.37E−02 5 40 LYD764 0.74 1.37E−02 7 48 LYD764 0.86 1.60E−03 6 11 LYD765 0.75 8.25E−04 1 19 LYD765 0.75 4.87E−03 4 20 LYD765 0.75 5.07E−03 4 7 LYD765 0.73 1.11E−02 2 24 LYD765 0.75 7.72E−03 2 35 LYD765 0.75 8.40E−03 2 22 LYD765 0.84 1.20E−03 2 6 LYD765 0.81 2.25E−03 5 5 LYD765 0.71 1.45E−02 5 17 LYD765 0.75 1.25E−02 7 4 LYD765 0.91 2.23E−04 7 7 LYD765 0.77 8.52E−03 7 3 LYD765 0.80 1.71E−02 7 11 LYD765 0.71 1.42E−02 3 20 LYD765 0.72 1.16E−02 3 15 LYD765 0.83 1.73E−03 3 22 LYD765 0.73 1.14E−02 3 6 LYD765 0.78 2.78E−03 6 9 LYD767 0.71 1.03E−02 4 16 LYD767 0.72 1.81E−02 7 30 LYD767 0.73 1.02E−02 3 32 LYD768 0.73 6.82E−03 4 37 LYD768 0.74 8.60E−03 2 20 LYD768 0.79 3.59E−03 2 13 LYD768 0.74 8.90E−03 5 31 LYD768 0.96 1.25E−04 3 11 LYD769 0.93 3.60E−05 2 2 LYD769 0.75 7.30E−03 2 22 LYD769 0.72 1.25E−02 2 13 LYD769 0.91 2.88E−04 7 46 LYD769 0.78 4.36E−03 3 48 LYD771 0.77 5.56E−03 4 47 LYD771 0.82 3.83E−03 2 44 LYD771 0.73 6.39E−02 7 27 LYD771 0.76 6.22E−03 3 41 LYD772 0.82 2.03E−03 2 26 LYD772 0.71 1.38E−02 3 42 LYD772 0.92 1.01E−02 6 27 LYD773 0.78 5.03E−03 2 46 LYD773 0.89 2.21E−04 5 41 LYD773 0.71 3.35E−02 7 21 LYD773 0.73 1.13E−02 3 43 LYD774 0.81 1.45E−04 1 25 LYD774 0.71 9.59E−03 9 42 LYD774 0.72 8.79E−03 9 48 LYD774 0.77 5.55E−04 8 5 LYD774 0.70 2.41E−02 7 5 LYD776 0.77 3.65E−03 4 13 LYD776 0.87 4.31E−04 2 46 LYD776 0.71 2.17E−02 9 11 LYD776 0.89 1.31E−03 5 44 LYD776 0.79 7.09E−03 7 15 LYD776 0.81 2.72E−03 3 41 LYD777 0.70 1.55E−02 2 7 LYD777 0.90 5.68E−05 9 9 LYD777 0.73 2.62E−02 3 21 LYD778 0.71 9.48E−03 4 4 LYD778 0.73 1.06E−02 5 25 LYD778 0.72 1.49E−03 8 38 LYD778 0.84 1.94E−02 6 44 LYD779 0.82 3.49E−03 2 45 LYD779 0.76 1.72E−02 9 1 LYD779 0.79 1.17E−02 7 1 LYD779 0.78 4.27E−03 3 41 LYD779 0.74 3.42E−02 3 44 LYD780 0.72 8.09E−03 4 6 LYD780 0.75 1.27E−02 2 45 LYD780 0.89 2.49E−04 5 43 LYD780 0.74 9.39E−02 5 27 LYD780 0.76 1.05E−02 7 2 LYD780 0.75 1.20E−02 7 3 LYD780 0.83 1.62E−03 3 46 LYD781 0.71 1.35E−02 4 44 LYD781 0.83 8.15E−04 9 46 LYD781 0.80 2.93E−03 5 2 LYD781 0.83 2.91E−03 7 25 LYD781 0.74 1.52E−02 7 12 LYD781 0.78 7.34E−03 7 22 LYD781 0.87 1.21E−03 7 23 LYD782 0.72 8.10E−03 4 38 LYD782 0.71 1.39E−02 2 32 LYD782 0.80 3.38E−03 5 41 LYD782 0.87 2.45E−03 5 44 LYD782 0.80 5.88E−03 7 40 LYD782 0.72 8.50E−03 6 38 LYD783 0.77 1.46E−02 9 21 LYD783 0.86 2.87E−02 5 27 LYD783 0.72 1.66E−03 8 48 LYD783 0.74 1.37E−02 7 35 LYD783 0.76 2.83E−02 7 11 LYD783 0.72 8.47E−03 6 5 LYD784 0.81 2.42E−03 4 44 LYD784 0.73 1.01E−02 5 22 LYD784 0.80 9.83E−03 5 8 LYD785 0.73 1.10E−02 4 45 LYD785 0.75 8.27E−03 5 41 LYD785 0.81 2.50E−03 3 35 LYD785 0.87 2.57E−02 6 27 LYD786 0.71 9.70E−03 4 34 LYD786 0.79 6.83E−03 7 18 LYD786 0.72 7.98E−03 6 24 LYD788 0.75 1.19E−02 4 11 LYD788 0.73 1.11E−02 2 32 LYD788 0.77 6.00E−03 5 41 LYD788 0.96 6.07E−05 5 44 LYD788 0.72 2.95E−02 7 21 LYD788 0.75 8.13E−03 3 43 LYD788 0.72 1.24E−02 3 41 LYD789 0.84 5.66E−04 4 38 LYD789 0.74 9.83E−03 5 37 LYD789 0.81 1.24E−03 6 37 LYD790 0.76 3.92E−03 9 33 LYD790 0.74 9.30E−03 5 41 LYD790 0.71 1.51E−02 3 19 LYD790 0.72 4.28E−02 3 11 LYD791 0.73 1.12E−02 2 25 LYD791 0.74 8.56E−03 2 22 LYD791 0.78 4.58E−03 2 6 LYD791 0.85 5.29E−04 9 33 LYD791 0.73 1.57E−02 7 19 LYD791 0.90 2.26E−03 3 11 LYD792 0.70 1.09E−02 9 33 LYD792 0.80 5.35E−03 7 20 LYD792 0.80 1.79E−02 7 11 LYD792 0.88 9.01E−03 6 8 LYD793 0.72 1.32E−02 5 18 LYD793 0.75 7.65E−03 5 41 LYD793 0.73 6.75E−03 6 13 LYD794 0.75 7.97E−03 4 8 LYD794 0.79 7.06E−03 4 11 LYD794 0.89 5.43E−04 7 19 LYD794 0.83 1.39E−03 3 25 LYD794 0.83 1.50E−03 3 12 LYD794 0.88 3.52E−04 3 23 LYD794 0.73 6.98E−03 6 16 LYD795 0.91 4.00E−03 4 27 LYD795 0.83 1.45E−03 5 41 LYD795 0.71 1.93E−03 8 28 LYD795 0.86 1.25E−03 7 14 LYD795 0.83 5.94E−03 7 1 LYD795 0.79 3.88E−03 3 41 LYD795 0.77 2.43E−02 6 21 LYD796 0.73 1.11E−02 2 43 LYD796 0.81 4.12E−03 7 4 LYD796 0.71 2.01E−02 7 7 LYD796 0.73 1.15E−02 3 9 LYD797 0.74 1.06E−03 1 38 LYD797 0.73 1.07E−02 4 44 LYD797 0.73 1.65E−02 7 28 LYD797 0.86 6.09E−04 3 38 LYD798 0.76 3.94E−03 4 19 LYD798 0.82 9.95E−04 9 32 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4.92E−03 5 43 LYD811 0.76 6.50E−03 3 48 LYD811 0.85 5.02E−04 6 48 LYD812 0.74 9.41E−03 1 8 LYD812 0.70 2.39E−02 4 11 LYD812 0.78 2.89E−03 9 32 LYD812 0.77 1.54E−02 9 1 LYD812 0.76 6.48E−03 5 20 LYD812 0.74 9.37E−03 5 29 LYD812 0.71 2.06E−02 7 7 LYD812 0.73 1.72E−02 7 40 LYD812 0.84 1.29E−03 3 46 LYD813 0.71 4.48E−03 1 47 LYD813 0.78 1.26E−02 9 1 LYD813 0.73 1.05E−02 5 37 LYD813 0.77 9.57E−03 7 38 LYD813 0.75 4.76E−03 6 38 LYD814 0.75 4.58E−03 4 32 LYD814 0.81 2.66E−03 2 46 LYD814 0.76 1.85E−02 9 1 LYD814 0.72 1.25E−02 5 41 LYD814 0.70 2.41E−02 7 32 LYD814 0.71 1.44E−02 3 43 LYD814 0.85 7.69E−03 3 44 LYD815 0.80 3.19E−03 5 24 LYD815 0.74 9.13E−03 5 25 LYD815 0.77 7.21E−02 5 27 LYD815 0.72 1.16E−02 5 3 LYD815 0.76 1.08E−02 5 11 LYD815 0.79 7.02E−03 7 23 LYD815 0.82 1.92E−03 3 9 LYD816 0.90 1.85E−04 4 8 LYD816 0.78 4.72E−03 2 34 LYD816 0.77 3.16E−03 9 32 LYD816 0.71 9.24E−03 9 39 LYD816 0.80 2.89E−03 5 41 LYD816 0.81 7.97E−03 5 44 LYD816 0.72 1.78E−02 7 9 LYD816 0.75 7.38E−03 3 43 LYD816 0.73 1.13E−02 3 41 LYD816 0.86 1.28E−02 3 27 LYD816 0.78 4.05E−02 6 44 LYD817 0.75 1.18E−02 4 11 LYD817 0.74 2.25E−02 3 21 LYD818 0.78 4.29E−03 2 31 LYD818 0.76 6.20E−03 3 43 LYD818 0.76 3.95E−03 6 18 LYD819 0.76 4.02E−03 1 1 LYD819 0.86 7.81E−04 2 37 LYD819 0.91 7.76E−04 9 1 LYD821 0.70 1.56E−02 2 46 LYD821 0.75 4.68E−03 9 40 LYD821 0.73 1.24E−03 8 48 LYD821 0.74 6.24E−03 6 12 LYD821 0.72 6.97E−02 6 44 LYD822 0.80 3.08E−03 2 9 LYD822 0.86 3.67E−04 9 4 LYD822 0.72 8.50E−03 9 15 LYD822 0.71 1.44E−02 5 2 LYD822 0.83 1.38E−03 5 48 LYD822 0.73 1.66E−02 7 23 LYD822 0.72 4.32E−02 7 11 LYD823 0.88 8.16E−04 4 11 LYD823 0.76 4.45E−03 9 35 LYD823 0.77 3.52E−03 9 7 LYD823 0.71 1.03E−02 9 38 LYD823 0.71 1.48E−02 5 24 LYD823 0.75 8.44E−03 5 30 LYD823 0.72 1.19E−02 5 48 LYD823 0.81 2.65E−03 5 46 LYD823 0.94 7.00E−08 8 5 LYD823 0.77 4.54E−04 8 22 LYD823 0.82 3.74E−03 7 4 LYD823 0.81 4.31E−03 7 7 LYD823 0.74 1.53E−02 7 48 LYD823 0.72 1.88E−02 7 3 LYD823 0.76 1.02E−02 7 6 LYD824 0.71 1.03E−02 9 40 LYD824 0.86 1.46E−03 7 25 LYD824 0.91 3.00E−04 7 5 LYD824 0.74 1.53E−02 7 22 LYD824 0.74 1.49E−02 7 23 LYD824 0.74 3.41E−02 7 11 LYD825 0.71 1.52E−02 2 19 LYD825 0.73 1.09E−02 5 43 LYD825 0.72 1.32E−02 5 31 LYD825 0.71 2.25E−03 8 5 LYD825 0.78 7.16E−03 7 40 LYD825 0.79 2.07E−02 3 11 LYD826 0.84 1.12E−03 2 5 LYD826 0.81 2.47E−03 5 41 LYD826 0.87 1.18E−02 7 27 LYD827 0.72 7.81E−03 4 43 LYD827 0.73 1.04E−02 2 18 LYD827 0.81 5.02E−02 6 27 LYD828 0.78 3.43E−04 1 29 LYD828 0.75 1.22E−02 7 18 LYD828 0.77 3.28E−03 6 26 LYD829 0.81 1.40E−04 1 48 LYD829 0.78 4.72E−03 3 25 LYD830 0.79 4.08E−03 2 43 LYD830 0.87 1.10E−03 2 44 LYD830 0.80 1.78E−03 9 33 LYD830 0.85 1.06E−03 5 41 LYD830 0.80 5.66E−03 7 14 LYD830 0.80 3.15E−03 3 43 LYD830 0.84 8.85E−03 3 44 LYD926 0.83 2.76E−03 2 44 LYD926 0.77 5.13E−03 5 33 LYD926 0.71 1.39E−02 3 28 LYD926 0.73 1.02E−02 3 6 LYD929 0.77 6.08E−03 2 15 LYD929 0.71 1.42E−02 2 22 LYD929 0.74 5.73E−03 9 37 LYD929 0.98 3.41E−07 5 41 LYD929 0.70 3.47E−02 7 1 LYD929 0.77 4.08E−02 6 44 LYD930 0.73 1.14E−02 2 24 LYD930 0.79 3.90E−03 2 25 LYD930 0.91 8.29E−05 2 15 LYD930 0.82 2.07E−03 2 22 LYD930 0.75 7.64E−03 2 6 LYD930 0.74 6.45E−03 9 33 LYD930 0.73 1.07E−02 5 32 LYD930 0.78 8.06E−03 7 2 LYD930 0.76 6.19E−03 3 48 MGP10 0.81 4.32E−03 7 25 MGP10 0.84 2.48E−03 7 5 MGP10 0.73 1.64E−02 7 48 MGP10 0.75 1.20E−02 7 3 MGP10 0.90 1.40E−04 3 48 MGP10 0.86 3.18E−04 6 9 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels yield improving genes and their homologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, and plant architecture (Correlation vector (Cor))] under normal conditions across bean varieties. P = p value.

Example 20 Production of B. Juncea Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with Yield Parameters Using 34K B. Juncea Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a B. juncea oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 34,000 B. juncea genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with yield components, various plant characteristics of 41 different B. juncea lines were analyzed and used for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test.

Correlation of B. juncea Genes' Expression Levels with Phenotypic Characteristics Across Ecotype

Experimental Procedures

41 B. juncea varieties were grown in four repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: B. juncea seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal conditions until harvest (field experiment; normal growth conditions which included irrigation 2-3 times a week, and fertilization given in the first month of the growth period). In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with yield components, 41 different B. juncea varieties were analyzed and used for gene expression analyses. Analysis was performed at flowering stage.

TABLE 159 B. juncea transcriptome expression sets Expression Set Set ID flower at pod setting stage under normal growth conditions 1 Leaf at pod setti4ng stage under normal growth conditions 2 Pods and developing seeds pod setting stage under normal 3 growth conditions stem at pod setting stage under normal growth conditions 4

RNA extraction—All 41 selected B. juncea varieties were sampled per treatment. Plant tissues [fully expended leaf, stem, flowers and pods] growing under normal conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above.

The collected data parameters were as follows (summarized in Table 160):

Average shoot DW [g]—Average weight of shoot per plant.

Average plant DW (Flowering) [g]—Average weight of all the plant at flowering (Stem DW+leaves DW).

Biomass per plant [Kg]—Average biomass at harvest above ground at dry mature stage.

Grain yield [gr]—Seed weight per unit area.

Harvest index—Average seed yield per plant/Average dry weight.

Inflorescence height [cm]—Measure main raceme (Inflorescence) length.

Leaf area per plant [cm²]—Measurement was performed using a Leaf area-meter.

Leaves DW [gr]—Weight leaves after drying at flowering.

Number days 50% flowering [number]—Calculate days from day 1.

Number of reproductive lateral branches (Flowering) [number].

Plant height [cm]—Height of main stem measure from first node above ground to last node before apex.

Plants number at harvest [number]—Count number of plants per plot.

Pod length [mm]—Measure lowest pods length.

Pods per main inflorescence [number]—Count number of pods on main raceme.

Reproductive period [number]—Calculate number of days from bolting to harvest.

Relative growth rate [gr/day]—the relative growth rate (RGR) based on dry weight is calculated using Formula XXXIV above.

Seeds yield per plant [Kg]—Weight seeds per plot and normalized to 0% RH.

Specific leaf area (Flowering) [cm²/g]—Leaf area per gram leaf dry weight.

Stem DW (flowering) [gr]—Weight stem after drying at flowering.

Stem thickness [mm]—Measure Thickness of main branch base.

Experimental Results

41 different B. juncea varieties (i.e., Var1-41) were grown and characterized for 20 parameters as specified above. The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 161-165 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome expression sets and the average parameters was conducted. Results were then integrated to the database (Table 166).

TABLE 160 B. juncea correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameter with Correlation ID Avr Shoot DW [gr] 1 Avr plant DW (F) [gr] 2 Biomass per plant [kg] 3 Harvest index 4 Inflorescence height [cm] 5 Leaf area per plant [cm²] 6 Leaves DW (flowering) [gr] 7 Num days 50% flowering 8 Num of reproductive Lateral branches 9 Plant height [cm] 10 Plants num at harvest [number] 11 Pod length [mm] 12 Pods per main inflorescence [number] 13 Relative growth rate [gr/day] 14 Reproductive period [number] 15 Seeds yield per plant [kg] 16 Specific leaf area (F) [cm²/gr] 17 Stem DW (flowering) [gr] 18 Stem thickness [mm] 19 Grain yield [gr] 20 “F” = Flowering. “Num” = number. “Avr” = average.

TABLE 161 Measured parameters in B. juncea varieties (lines 1-8) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 Line-7 Line-8 1 0.71 0.83 0.82 0.60 1.00 0.96 1.27 0.88 2 7.46 11.93 4.27 11.91 5.28 4.66 8.44 13.57 3 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.05 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 4 0.13 0.15 0.17 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.16 0.19 5 45.02 44.15 40.56 42.42 44.04 51.13 57.92 47.94 6 811.00 587.00 472.10 406.75 335.36 391.62 454.50 777.75 7 5.45 4.65 4.75 3.85 4.30 5.19 4.45 8.32 8 39.00 32.50 32.00 32.67 26.00 30.00 32.50 33.00 9 7.17 7.42 6.75 6.75 6.75 7.58 5.33 6.83 10 91.42 90.79 100.23 103.06 58.65 86.02 98.56 109.42 11 165.75 193.50 231.00 98.75 221.50 259.50 205.00 145.50 12 43.23 40.21 41.30 48.20 37.74 38.95 43.77 45.51 13 35.71 34.75 26.38 14.78 27.63 31.46 31.58 28.38 14 0.17 0.19 0.13 0.16 0.18 0.17 0.22 0.17 15 52.00 58.50 71.00 62.67 58.00 61.00 61.50 61.00 16 3.10 2.73 2.15 4.93 1.36 1.87 2.84 4.12 17 323.35 402.48 300.95 307.41 244.34 242.62 308.33 300.53 18 16.93 31.14 8.06 31.88 11.55 8.78 20.86 32.39 19 7.70 7.63 6.35 8.54 5.47 6.95 8.05 7.55 20 550.50 572.75 516.75 517.50 330.00 526.25 608.00 616.00

TABLE 162 Measured parameters in B. juncea varieties (lines 9-16) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 Line-12 Line-13 Line-14 Line-15 Line-16 1 0.85 0.83 1.06 1.33 0.87 1.08 1.09 1.31 2 12.03 8.35 11.19 10.80 7.84 9.11 11.69 5.43 3 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.02 4 0.15 0.17 0.13 0.16 0.15 0.12 0.17 0.18 5 42.58 32.41 31.34 47.00 50.94 40.88 50.00 41.14 6 657.67 440.75 564.00 396.42 551.00 507.25 765.17 552.16 7 4.80 3.87 6.25 3.85 3.45 3.92 5.25 6.51 8 NA NA 34.25 32.00 32.50 33.75 32.50 26.50 9 6.83 6.08 7.00 5.92 5.42 5.83 6.25 7.00 10 80.19 110.31 127.00 105.44 121.75 104.35 98.46 62.98 11 148.75 177.75 193.50 176.25 210.75 189.50 223.75 222.00 12 42.74 36.30 34.44 45.74 42.57 47.01 41.34 37.35 13 22.22 32.11 35.50 26.54 29.08 25.29 31.79 27.75 14 0.23 0.18 0.21 0.23 0.17 0.18 0.21 0.19 15 NA NA 62.75 59.00 64.50 60.25 64.50 67.25 16 2.95 3.33 2.57 3.61 2.94 2.66 2.81 2.78 17 395.43 358.58 249.28 364.49 448.65 423.41 434.68 267.71 18 31.29 21.18 27.33 28.56 20.08 23.40 29.81 11.41 19 7.05 9.65 7.84 8.08 8.59 7.45 7.09 5.66 20 462.75 648.50 527.50 607.25 666.50 534.00 681.00 556.75

TABLE 163 Measured parameters in B. juncea varieties (lines 17-24) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-17 Line-18 Line-19 Line-20 Line-21 Line-22 Line-23 Line-24 1 0.82 1.04 0.95 1.42 1.16 1.08 0.76 1.06 2 4.75 6.14 10.32 8.15 4.10 4.47 9.35 10.49 3 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 4 0.19 0.18 0.15 0.17 0.10 0.17 0.17 0.13 5 44.75 42.83 41.67 45.90 47.11 39.64 46.38 40.42 6 374.51 694.62 657.67 234.75 405.43 470.64 688.42 632.92 7 4.40 6.72 7.79 2.52 4.10 5.20 6.32 8.33 8 26.50 32.00 31.50 30.33 31.00 31.00 33.75 31.50 9 5.25 7.75 6.67 5.50 6.17 6.25 7.58 7.17 10 67.48 97.56 90.65 90.06 82.49 96.47 89.77 131.83 11 220.75 255.50 254.25 223.33 261.75 217.00 216.75 232.33 12 50.54 44.27 48.28 50.36 49.56 50.65 43.43 35.63 13 23.83 25.28 22.42 24.53 27.13 23.21 29.96 33.44 14 0.17 0.17 0.19 0.23 0.26 0.23 0.18 0.21 15 64.67 64.75 58.50 64.33 46.00 65.50 59.75 59.00 16 2.46 2.46 2.07 2.42 1.30 2.46 2.68 2.25 17 252.49 319.29 253.13 252.16 300.97 290.18 327.41 234.17 18 9.87 11.70 23.16 21.94 8.19 8.22 21.74 23.12 19 6.40 7.19 7.27 7.98 6.83 6.95 7.66 8.71 20 581.75 668.50 561.00 574.00 360.75 478.67 626.50 585.00

TABLE 164 Measured parameters in B. juncea varieties (lines 25-32) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-25 Line-26 Line-27 Line-28 Line-29 Line-30 Line-31 Line-32 1 0.84 1.06 1.20 1.17 0.97 0.86 0.98 1.18 2 9.54 10.72 5.21 6.71 9.34 5.64 11.58 4.55 3 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 4 0.13 0.18 0.15 0.18 0.18 0.20 0.17 0.11 5 42.58 45.25 50.29 42.52 57.61 42.94 43.94 45.65 6 369.83 353.58 370.50 485.81 612.00 581.42 427.00 463.19 7 3.40 2.70 2.87 5.07 6.38 4.42 3.61 5.16 8 31.67 30.50 28.50 28.50 31.00 32.40 31.50 28.00 9 5.83 5.42 5.58 6.58 6.17 7.25 5.58 6.42 10 88.05 90.19 61.17 85.50 81.12 92.92 92.10 79.96 11 191.00 251.33 212.25 225.00 175.00 243.17 263.75 240.75 12 42.30 39.88 39.10 45.99 49.78 43.28 50.39 52.52 13 28.42 26.33 34.04 25.75 28.00 30.61 26.00 25.79 14 0.16 0.24 0.26 0.22 0.17 0.19 0.15 0.20 15 65.17 53.00 65.00 61.50 62.50 60.83 61.75 65.25 16 2.59 2.41 2.07 2.37 3.20 2.56 2.29 1.44 17 342.65 395.55 376.46 286.95 282.95 385.46 358.73 266.19 18 25.23 29.47 12.77 15.06 21.65 13.39 31.14 8.49 19 7.56 7.61 6.43 6.79 8.22 7.83 6.96 6.83 20 542.67 703.50 479.50 564.00 580.00 671.00 628.25 378.75

TABLE 165 Measured parameters in B. juncea varieties (lines 33-41) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-33 Line-34 Line-35 Line-36 Line-37 Line-38 Line-39 Line-40 Line-41 1 1.22 1.33 0.74 0.93 1.08 0.99 0.98 1.27 0.65 2 7.74 6.36 6.52 8.42 14.27 6.45 9.53 12.55 9.49 3 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.03 4 0.17 0.19 0.10 0.20 0.18 0.18 0.16 0.15 0.18 5 44.76 48.54 49.81 45.60 46.22 47.89 34.23 48.13 51.75 6 416.58 373.00 893.81 480.42 608.42 513.71 698.83 724.92 819.58 7 4.63 4.14 9.35 2.93 5.65 4.56 4.05 8.97 6.50 8 27.50 27.50 31.00 33.00 33.00 32.50 34.00 30.50 NA 9 6.75 6.08 7.58 5.50 5.92 5.58 5.83 6.42 5.42 10 85.83 77.79 81.81 115.75 90.61 82.67 143.75 92.69 148.63 11 210.00 227.25 186.00 192.83 189.25 290.50 141.00 223.50 109.00 12 55.81 49.04 54.29 43.09 47.41 47.21 31.18 48.49 35.43 13 24.92 28.21 39.87 33.06 24.89 27.67 36.88 25.08 42.75 14 0.19 0.19 0.12 0.18 0.28 0.19 0.23 0.22 0.17 15 65.75 62.50 75.50 70.00 70.00 58.00 69.00 62.75 NA 16 2.24 2.51 2.30 3.61 3.18 1.81 4.01 2.02 4.93 17 261.49 261.55 291.77 512.56 317.47 323.08 353.77 242.76 370.04 18 18.59 14.93 10.22 22.34 37.15 14.81 24.55 28.69 21.96 19 6.27 7.30 8.93 8.43 7.43 7.49 11.17 7.36 9.45 20 493.00 601.25 438.75 747.17 661.00 550.25 487.25 483.25 570.50

TABLE 166 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across B. juncea varieties Corr. Gene Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LYD694 0.73 2.82E−04 1 17 LYD695 0.71 4.58E−04 1 17 LYD695 0.73 1.53E−04 2 17 LYD694 0.73 2.70E−04 3 19 LYD695 0.72 2.58E−04 2 20

Example 21 Production of B. Juncea Transcriptome and High Throughput Correlation Analysis with Yield Parameters Using 60K B. Juncea Oligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a B. juncea oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60,000 B. juncea genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with yield components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 11 different B. juncea varieties were analyzed and used for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test.

Correlation of B. juncea Genes' Expression Levels with Phenotypic Characteristics Across Ecotype

Experimental Procedures

11 B. juncea varieties were grown in three repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: B. juncea seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal condition till harvest [field experiment, normal growth conditions which included irrigation 2-3 times a week with 861 m³ water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period, and fertilization of 12 units of nitrogen given in the first month of the growth period]. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with yield components or vigor related parameters, the 11 different B. juncea varieties were analyzed and used for gene expression analyses.

TABLE 167 Tissues used for B, juncea transcriptome expression sets Expression Description Set Pod (R4-R5) under normal growth conditions 1 Flower at flowering stage under normal growth conditions 2 Pod (R4-R5) under normal growth conditions 3 Meristem at vegetative stage under normal growth conditions 4 Leaf at vegetative stage under normal growth conditions 5 Provided are the identification (ID) digits of each of the B, juncea expression sets.

RNA extraction—All 11 selected B. juncea varieties were sample per each treatment. Plant tissues [leaf, Pod, Lateral meristem and flower] growing under normal conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above.

The collected data parameters were as follows:

Fresh weight (plot-harvest) [gr/plant]—total fresh weight per plot at harvest time normalized to the number of plants per plot.

Seed weight [milligrams/plant]—total seeds from each plot was extracted, weighted and normalized for plant number in each plot.

Harvest index—The harvest index was calculated: seed weight/fresh weight.

Days till bolting/flowering—number of days till 50% bolting/flowering for each plot.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at time of flowering. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken for each plot.

Main branch—average node length—total length/total number of nods on main branch.

Lateral branch—average node length—total length/total number of nods on lateral branch.

Main branch—20th length—the length of the pod on the 20^(th) node from the apex of main branch.

Lateral branch—20th length—the length of the pod on the 20^(th) node from the apex of lateral branch.

Main branch—20th seed No.—number of seeds in the pod on the 20^(th) node from the apex of main branch.

Lateral branch—20th seed number—number of seeds in the pod on the 20^(t)h node from the apex of lateral branch.

Number of lateral branches—total number of lateral branches, average of three plants per plot.

Main branch height [cm]—total length of main branch.

Min-lateral branch position—lowest node on the main branch that has developed lateral branch.

Max-lateral branch position [#node of main branch]—highest node on the main branch that has developed lateral branch.

Max-number of nodes in lateral branch—the highest number of node that a lateral branch had per plant.

Max length of lateral branch [cm]—the highest length of lateral branch per plant.

Max diameter of lateral branch [mm]—the highest base diameter that a lateral branch had per plant.

Oil Content—Indirect oil content analysis was carried out using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy, which measures the resonance energy absorbed by hydrogen atoms in the liquid state of the sample [See for example, Conway T F. and Earle F R., 1963, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society; Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, ISSN: 0003-021X (Print) 1558-9331 (Online)];

Fresh weight (single plant) (gr/plant)—average fresh weight of three plants per plot taken at the middle of the season.

Main branch base diameter [mm]—the based diameter of main branch, average of three plants per plot.

1000 Seeds [gr]—weight of 1000 seeds per plot.

Experimental Results

Eleven different B. juncea varieties were grown and characterized for 23 parameters as specified above and summarized in Table 168. The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 169-170 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome expression sets and the average parameters was conducted. Results were then integrated to the database (Table 171).

TABLE 168 Measured parameters in B, juncea accessions Correlated parameter with Correlation ID 1000 Seeds [gr.] 1 Days till bolting (days) 2 Days till flowering (days) 3 Fresh weight (plot-harvest) [gr./plant] 4 Fresh weight (single plant) [gr./plant] 5 Harvest index (ratio) 6 Lateral branch-20th length (cm) 7 Lateral branch-20th seed number (number) 8 Lateral branch-average node length (cm) 9 Main branch-20th length (cm) 10 Main branch-20th seed number (number) 11 Main branch-average node length (cm) 12 Main branch base diameter [mm] 13 Main branch height [cm] 14 Max-Diameter of lateral branch [mm] 15 Max-Lateral branch position [# node of main 16 branch] Max-Length of lateral branch [cm] 17 Max-Number of nodes in lateral branch (number) 18 Min-Lateral branch position (#node of main 19 branch) Number of lateral branches (number) 20 Oil content (mg) 21 SPAD 22 Seed weight per plant (gr.) 23 Provided are the B, juncea correlated parameters. “gr.” = grams; mm = millimeters; “cm” = centimeters; “mg” = milligrams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “#” = number.

TABLE 169 Measured parameters in B. juncea accessions (lines 1-6) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-1 Line-2 Line-3 Line-4 Line-5 Line-6 1 3.76 2.21 3.26 2.36 2.00 3.12 2 57.33 60.33 59.67 56.33 55.00 46.67 3 66.00 69.67 69.33 66.00 61.33 53.00 4 69.24 45.22 39.27 49.11 43.95 46.42 5 197.78 142.22 147.22 243.33 192.33 163.78 6 0.00006 0.00013 0.00014 0.00014 0.00013 0.00014 7 4.32 3.69 4.14 3.37 3.06 3.96 8 13.00 14.00 13.22 13.44 11.00 13.11 9 0.65 0.43 0.74 0.57 0.56 0.79 10 4.28 3.72 3.62 3.50 2.74 5.20 11 13.22 13.67 10.44 14.11 9.78 15.22 12 0.48 0.41 0.63 0.43 0.38 0.68 13 14.53 11.99 19.91 14.32 12.59 12.30 14 140.72 125.22 112.44 133.39 142.00 101.50 15 4.20 4.85 4.34 5.74 5.87 5.68 16 15.22 14.89 13.56 14.89 14.00 10.89 17 40.44 47.22 41.61 60.50 59.78 59.44 18 5.22 7.00 5.22 7.00 6.56 9.44 19 6.78 6.33 5.56 3.67 3.00 3.11 20 15.22 14.89 13.56 14.89 14.00 9.78 21 40.19 40.71 40.91 38.57 40.14 42.63 22 33.02 30.01 32.83 37.53 41.44 35.41 23 0.00438 0.00572 0.00553 0.00687 0.00581 0.00628

TABLE 170 Measured parameters in B. juncea accessions (lines 7-11) Ecotype/ Treatment Line-7 Line-8 Line-9 Line-10 Line-11 1 3.34 3.09 3.39 3.40 2.39 2 59.00 54.33 59.67 57.33 53.00 3 69.67 63.67 69.67 71.00 58.33 4 36.14 32.58 33.16 63.23 60.94 5 164.44 181.11 176.22 217.89 261.11 6 0.00013 0.00013 0.00014 0.00009 0.00012 7 4.33 4.21 4.14 4.04 3.88 8 11.89 13.44 11.22 13.22 14.00 9 0.57 0.76 0.96 0.78 0.90 10 3.91 3.98 3.46 3.73 4.04 11 12.00 12.67 9.89 11.56 15.56 12 0.40 0.63 0.57 0.59 1.55 13 12.60 12.91 12.56 13.77 13.56 14 145.39 131.56 129.89 131.56 116.44 15 4.52 4.89 4.68 5.56 5.49 16 16.44 14.33 14.56 14.11 16.78 17 47.28 47.33 44.67 58.67 47.17 18 6.11 5.22 5.67 6.56 6.00 19 7.78 6.22 5.56 4.89 5.33 20 16.44 14.33 14.56 14.11 16.78 21 41.34 40.82 40.82 38.14 37.21 22 33.17 32.87 34.80 31.82 41.49 23 0.00458 0.00437 0.00448 0.00566 0.00706 Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in B. juncea accessions (Seed ID) under normal conditions.

TABLE 171 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal or normal conditions across B. juncea accessions Corr. Gene Name R P value Exp. set Set ID LGP19 0.72 2.85E−02 4 4 LGP19 0.76 6.77E−03 1 9 LGP45 0.75 8.72E−02 2 5 LGP45 0.86 2.68E−02 2 4 LYD694 0.73 2.56E−02 4 4 LYD694 0.70 2.33E−02 5 1 LYD695 0.95 4.06E−03 2 22 LYD696 0.97 7.40E−03 1 12 LGP19 0.74 9.33E−02 2 9 LGP45 0.76 7.92E−02 2 15 LGP45 0.87 2.55E−02 2 23 LYD694 0.72 2.83E−02 4 5 LYD694 0.73 1.01E−01 2 4 LYD694 0.72 1.21E−02 1 12 LYD696 0.96 8.60E−03 1 9 Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their homologues in tissues [Leaves, meristem, flower and pods; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under stress conditions or normal conditions across B, juncea accessions. P = p value.

Example 22 Gene Cloning and Generation of Binary Vectors for Plant Expression

To validate their role in improving yield, selected genes were over-expressed in plants, as follows.

Cloning Strategy

Selected genes from those presented in Examples 1-21 hereinabove were cloned into binary vectors for the generation of transgenic plants. For cloning, the full-length open reading frames (ORFs) were identified. EST clusters and in some cases mRNA sequences were analyzed to identify the entire open reading frame by comparing the results of several translation algorithms to known proteins from other plant species.

In order to clone the full-length cDNAs, reverse transcription (RT) followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR; RT-PCR) was performed on total RNA extracted from leaves, roots or other plant tissues, growing under normal/limiting or stress conditions. Total RNA extraction, production of cDNA and PCR amplification was performed using standard protocols described elsewhere (Sambrook J., E. F. Fritsch, and T. Maniatis. 1989. Molecular Cloning. A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York) which are well known to those skilled in the art. PCR products were purified using PCR purification kit (Qiagen).

Usually, 2 sets of primers were prepared for the amplification of each gene, via nested PCR (if required). Both sets of primers were used for amplification on a cDNA. In case no product was obtained, a nested PCR reaction was performed. Nested PCR was performed by amplification of the gene using external primers and then using the produced PCR product as a template for a second PCR reaction, where the internal set of primers were used. Alternatively, one or two of the internal primers were used for gene amplification, both in the first and the second PCR reactions (meaning only 2-3 primers are designed for a gene). To facilitate further cloning of the cDNAs, an 8-12 base pairs (bp) extension was added to the 5′ of each internal primer. The primer extension includes an endonuclease restriction site. The restriction sites were selected using two parameters: (a) the restriction site does not exist in the cDNA sequence; and (b) the restriction sites in the forward and reverse primers were designed such that the digested cDNA was inserted in the sense direction into the binary vector utilized for transformation.

PCR products were digested with the restriction endonucleases (New England BioLabs Inc) according to the sites designed in the primers. Each digested/undigested PCR product was inserted into a high copy vector pUC19 (New England BioLabs Inc], or into plasmids originating from this vector. In some cases the undigested PCR product was inserted into pCR-Blunt II-TOPO (Invitrogen) or into pJET1.2 (CloneJET PCR Cloning Kit, Thermo Scientific) or directly into the binary vector. The digested/undigested products and the linearized plasmid vector were ligated using T4 DNA ligase enzyme (Roche, Switzerland or other manufacturers). In cases where pCR-Blunt II-TOPO is used no T4 ligase is needed.

Sequencing of the inserted genes was performed, using the ABI 377 sequencer (Applied Biosystems). In some cases, after confirming the sequences of the cloned genes, the cloned cDNA was introduced into a modified pGI binary vector containing the At6669 promoter (e.g., pQFNc) and the NOS terminator (SEQ ID NO: 15762) via digestion with appropriate restriction endonucleases.

In case of Brachypodium transformation, after confirming the sequences of the cloned genes, the cloned cDNAs were introduced into pEBbVNi (FIG. 9A) containing 35S promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15763) and the NOS terminator (SEQ ID NO: 15762) via digestion with appropriate restriction endonucleases. The genes were cloned downstream to the 35S promoter and upstream to the NOS terminator.

Several DNA sequences of the selected genes were synthesized by GeneArt (Life Technologies, Grand Island, N.Y., USA). Synthetic DNA was designed in silico. Suitable restriction enzymes sites were added to the cloned sequences at the 5′ end and at the 3′ end to enable later cloning into the desired binary vector.

Binary vectors—The pPI plasmid vector was constructed by inserting a synthetic poly-(A) signal sequence, originating from pGL3 basic plasmid vector (Promega, GenBank Accession No. U47295; nucleotides 4658-4811) into the HindIII restriction site of the binary vector pBI101.3 (Clontech, GenBank Accession No. U12640). pGI is similar to pPI, but the original gene in the backbone is GUS-Intron and not GUS.

The modified pGI vector (e.g., pQFN, pQFNc, pQYN_6669, pQNa_RP, pQFYN or pQXNc) is a modified version of the pGI vector in which the cassette is inverted between the left and right borders so the gene and its corresponding promoter are close to the right border and the NPTII gene is close to the left border.

At6669, the new Arabidopsis thaliana promoter sequence (SEQ ID NO: 15751) was inserted in the modified pGI binary vector, upstream to the cloned genes, followed by DNA ligation and binary plasmid extraction from positive E. coli colonies, as described above. Colonies were analyzed by PCR using the primers covering the insert which were designed to span the introduced promoter and gene. Positive plasmids were identified, isolated and sequenced.

pEBbVNi (FIG. 9A) is a modified version of pJJ2LB in which the Hygromycin resistance gene was replaced with the BAR gene which confers resistance to the BASTA herbicide [BAR gene coding sequence is provided in GenBank Accession No. JQ293091.1 (SEQ ID NO: 15764); further description is provided in Akama K, et al. “Efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana using the bar gene as selectable marker”, Plant Cell Rep. 1995, 14(7):450-4; Christiansen P, et al. “A rapid and efficient transformation protocol for the grass Brachypodium distachyon”, Plant Cell Rep. 2005 March; 23(10-11):751-8. Epub 2004 Oct. 19; and Păcurar D I, et al. “A high-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for the grass model species Brachypodium distachyon L”, Transgenic Res. 2008 17(5):965-75; each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference in its entirety]. The pEBbVNi construct contains the 35S promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15763). pJJ2LB is a modified version of pCambia0305.2 (Cambia).

In case genomic DNA was cloned, the genes were amplified by direct PCR on genomic DNA extracted from leaf tissue using the DNAeasy kit (Qiagen Cat. No. 69104).

Selected genes cloned by the present inventors are provided in Table 172 below.

TABLE 172 Cloned genes Poly- Poly- nucleotide peptide SEQ SEQ Gene Name High copy plasmid Organism Primers used SEQ ID NOs: ID NO: ID NO: LGP1 pUCsFN_LGP1 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 16135, 15859, 16114, 15809 395 713 LGP10 pUCsFN_LGP10 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 16027, 15820, 16040, 15855 400 718 LGP100 pMA_LGP100_GA 466 786 LGP101 pUC19c_LGP101 RICE Oryza sativa L. 15800, 16288, 16466, 16204 467 787 LGP102 pMK_LGP102_GA 468 788 LGP103 pUC19c_LGP103 SORGHUM Sorghum bicolor 16051, 16215, 16072, 16335 469 1090 LGP104 pQFNc_LGP104 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16015, 15832, 16181, 15858 470 790 LGP105 pUC19c_LGP105 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16001, 16334, 16001, 16334 471 791 LGP106 TopoB_LGP106 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16139, 15853, 16073, 15849 472 792 LGP107 pMA-RQ_LGP107_GA 473 793 LGP108 pUC19_LGP108 WHEAT Triticum aestivum L. 16424, 15895, 16424, 15895 474 1091 LGP109 pUC19c_LGP109 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16003, 15802, 16034, 15846 475 1092 LGP12 pUCsFN_LGP12 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 15969, 15810, 15945, 16472 401 719 LGP18 pUC57_LGP18_GA 402 720 LGP19 pUCsFN_LGP19 MUSTARD Brassica juncea 15861, 15911, 15861, 15907 403 1067 LGP20 pUCsFN_LGP20 BARLEY Hordeum vulgare L. 16058, 16471, 16058, 16469 404 1068 LGP21 pUCsFN_LGP21 BARLEY Hordeum vulgare L. 16375, 16477, 16383, 15932 405 723 LGP22 pUCsFN_LGP22 BARLEY Hordeum vulgare L. 15836, 15864, 15836, 15864 406 724 LGP24 pUC19c_LGP24 lettuce 16173, 16308, 15934, 16242 407 725 LGP25 pUCsFN_LGP25 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16037, 16470, 15963, 15860 408 1069 LGP27 pUC19c_LGP27 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16024, 16219, 15982, 16189 409 1070 LGP3 pUCsFN_LGP3 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 16410, 16172, 16410, 16172 396 714 LGP32 pUCsFN_LGP32 TOMATO Lycopersicum esculentum 16153, 15818, 15961, 15814 410 728 LGP34 pUCsFN_LGP34 TOMATO Lycopersicum esculentum 15960, 15869, 16099, 15869 411 729 LGP35 pUC19c_LGP35 TOMATO Lycopersicum esculentum 16079, 16225, 16081, 16318 412 1071 LGP38 pUC57_LGP38_GA 413 731 LGP39 pUC57_LGP39_GA 414 732 LGP41 pUC57_LGP41_GA 415 733 LGP42 pUC19c_LGP42 TOMATO Lycopersicum esculentum 16120, 16196, 15940, 16247 416 1072 LGP43 pUCsFN_LGP43 CANOLA Brassica napus 16409, 16029, 16409, 16029 417 735 LGP44 pUCsFN_LGP44 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 16025, 15829, 15953, 15823 418 736 LGP45 pUCsFN_LGP45 MUSTARD Brassica juncea 16076, 15826, 15996, 15804 419 737 LGP46 pUCsFN_LGP46 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 16394, 15918, 16456, 15924 420 738 LGP47 pUCsFN_LGP47 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16036, 16467, 16125, 16473 421 1073 LGP48 pUCsFN_LGP48 CANOLA Brassica napus 15933, 16344, 16151, 16344 422 1074 LGP49 pUCsFN_LGP49 CANOLA Brassica napus 16448, 15783, 16448, 15769 423 741 LGP52 pUCsFN_LGP52 SORGHUM Sorghum bicolor 16454, 15885, 16441, 15904 424 742 LGP53 pUCsFN_LGP53 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 15946, 15828, 16134, 15850 425 743 LGP54 pUCsFN_LGP54 CANOLA Brassica napus 16046, 16217, 16048, 16202 426 744 LGP58 pUCsFN_LGP58 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16170, 15831, 16170, 15831 427 1075 LGP59 pMA-RQ_LGP59_GA 428 746 LGP6 pUCsFN_LGP6 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 15942, 15837, 16096, 16474 397 715 LGP60 pMA_LGP60_GA 429 747 LGP61 pMA-RQ_LGP61_GA 430 748 LGP62 pMA-RQ_LGP62_GA 431 749 LGP63 pMS-RQ_LGP63_GA 432 750 LGP64 pMA-RQ_LGP64_GA 433 751 LGP65 pUC19c_LGP65 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16451, 15884, 16402, 15906 434 752 LGP66 pQFNc_LGP66 PHYSCOMITRELLA Physcomitrella 16427, 15916, 16427, 15916 435 1076 LGP67 pQFNc_LGP67 CANOLA Brassica napus 16019, 16188, 16019, 16193 436 1077 LGP68 pMA-RQ_LGP68_GA 437 755 LGP69 pUC19c_LGP69 CANOLA Brassica napus 15970, 16227, 16086, 16261 438 1078 LGP71 pUCsFN_LGP71 Phaseolus vulgaris 16137, 16294, 16108, 16236 439 757 LGP72 TopoB_LGP72 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16435, 15791, 16423, 16482 440 1079 LGP73 pMA-T_LGP73_GA 441 759 LGP74 pMA-T_LGP74_GA 442 760 LGP75 pUCsFN_LGP75 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16390, 15768, 16398, 15766 443 761 LGP76 pUCsFN_LGP76 RICE Oryza sativa L. 16087, 15803, 16087, 15803 444 762 LGP77 pMA-T_LGP77_GA 445 763 LGP78 pUCsFN_LGP78 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15993, 15812, 16016, 15844 446 764 LGP79 pUCsFN_LGP79 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16160, 15808, 16100, 15841 447 1080 LGP8 pUCsFN_LGP8 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 15956, 15835, 16056, 15857 398 716 LGP80 pUCsFN_LGP80 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16376, 15784, 16376, 15784 448 1081 LGP81 pUCsFN_LGP81 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16436, 15771, 16420, 15790 449 767 LGP82 pUCsFN_LGP82 MAIZE Zea mays L. 15821, 15865, 15807, 15880 450 768 LGP83 pUC19c_LGP83 BARLEY Hordeum vulgare L. 16021, 15840, 16021, 15822 451 769 LGP84 pQFNc_LGP84 Phaseolus vulgaris 16411, 15775, 16411, 15775 452 1082 LGP85 pUC19c_LGP85 Phaseolus vulgaris 16460, 16462, 16461, 16462 453 1083 LGP86 pMA-RQ_LGP86_GA 454 772 LGP87 pQFNc_LGP87 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16430, 16476, 16452, 15923 455 773 LGP88 pQFNc_LGP88 MAIZE Zea mays L. 15917, 15897, 15917, 15897 456 1084 LGP89 pQFNc_LGP89 MAIZEZea mays L. 16085, 16468, 16085, 16468 457 1085 LGP9 pUCsFN_LGP9 ARABIDOPSIS Arabidopsis thalia 15862, 15796, 15847, 16464 399 717 LGP90 pUC19c_LGP90 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16379, 15874, 16379, 15874 458 1086 LGP91 pQFNc_LGP91 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16127, 16481, 16011, 16483 459 1087 LGP94 pUC19c_LGP94 MAIZE Zea mays L. 16006, 15851, 16109, 15830 460 780 LGP95 pMA_LGP95_GA 461 781 LGP96 pUC19c_LGP96 Medicago 15972, 16304, 16078, 16304 462 1088 LGP97 pMA_LGP97_GA 463 783 LGP98 pMA_LGP98_GA 464 784 LGP99 pUC19c_LGP99 RICE Oryza sativa L. 16111, 15845, 16004, 15815 465 1089 LYD237 pMA-RQ_MGP14_GA 477 797 LYD694 pMA-T_LYD694_GA 489 809 LYD695 pUC19c_LYD695 Brassica Juncea 15935, 16201, 15935, 16201 490 810 LYD696 pQFNc_LYD696 Brassica Juncea 16084, 16325, 16084, 16325 491 1094 LYD698 pMA-T_LYD698_GA 492 812 LYD699 pMA-T_LYD699_GA 493 813 LYD700 pMA-T_LYD700_GA 494 814 LYD701 pQFNc_LYD701 Phaseolus vulgaris 16028, 16191 495 815 LYD702 pUC19_LYD702 Phaseolus vulgaris 16103, 16220 496 816 LYD703 pMA-T_LYD703_GA 497 817 LYD704 pUC19c_LYD704 Phaseolus vulgaris 16150, 16327, 16069, 16298 498 818 LYD705 pQFNc_LYD705 Phaseolus vulgaris 16032, 16289 499 819 LYD706 pUC19_LYD706 Phaseolus vulgaris 15801, 15834, 15798, 15816 500 1095 LYD707 pQFNc_LYD707 Phaseolus vulgaris 15848, 15795, 15819, 16465 501 821 LYD708 pQFNc_LYD708 Phaseolus vulgaris 16131, 16246, 16131, 16246 502 822 LYD710 pMA-T_LYD710_GA 503 823 LYD711 pQFNc_LYD711 Phaseolus vulgaris 16414, 15973, 16385, 16063 504 1096 LYD713 pUC19c_LYD713 Phaseolus vulgaris 16133, 16186, 15977, 16312 505 825 LYD714 pQFNc_LYD714 Phaseolus vulgaris 16162, 16319, 16039, 16322 506 826 LYD715 pMA-T_LYD715_GA 507 827 LYD717 pQFNc_LYD717 Phaseolus vulgaris 16026, 16258, 16026, 16258 508 828 LYD718 pUC19c_LYD718 Phaseolus vulgaris 16023, 16205, 16121, 16210 509 1097 LYD719 pQFNc_LYD719 Phaseolus vulgaris 15928, 16292, 15928, 16303 510 830 LYD720 pQFNc_LYD720 Phaseolus vulgaris 16372, 15908 511 831 LYD721 pOFNc_LYD721 Phaseolus vulgaris 15817, 15793, 15817, 15793 512 1098 LYD722 pQFNc_LYD722 Phaseolus vulgaris 16388, 16145, 16412, 16145 513 1099 LYD723 pQFNc_LYD723 Phaseolus vulgaris 15990, 15909, 15990, 15909 514 834 LYD725 pQFNc_LYD725 Phaseolus vulgaris 16075, 16300 515 1100 LYD726 pMA-T_LYD726_GA 516 836 LYD727 pUC19c_LYD727 Phaseolus vulgaris 16035, 16207, 15980, 16293 517 837 LYD729 pMA-T_LYD729_GA 518 838 LYD730 pUC19c_LYD730 Phaseolus vulgaris 16399, 15875, 16450, 15867 519 839 LYD731 pQFNc_LYD731 Phaseolus vulgaris 15978, 16321, 16148, 16341 520 840 LYD733 pQFNc_LYD733 Phaseolus vulgaris 16419, 15899 521 841 LYD735 pMA-T_LYD735_GA 522 842 LYD737 pQFNc_LYD737 Phaseolus vulgaris 16429, 15892, 16429, 15892 523 844 LYD738 pQFNc_LYD738 Phaseolus vulgaris 16140, 16342, 16060, 16198 524 1101 LYD739 pQFNc_LYD739 Phaseolus vulgaris 16130, 16281, 16118, 16276 525 846 LYD740 pQFNc_LYD740 Phaseolus vulgaris 16431, 15903, 16443, 15890 526 847 LYD741 TopoB_LYD741 Phaseolus vulgaris 16045, 16309, 16045, 16309 527 848 LYD742 pQFNc_LYD742 Phaseolus vulgaris 15984, 16199, 16128, 16317 528 1102 LYD744 pUC19_LYD744 Phaseolus vulgaris 15805, 15913, 15813, 15913 529 1103 LYD745 pMA-T_LYD745_GA 530 851 LYD746 pMA-T_LYD746_GA 531 852 LYD747 pMA_LYD747_GA 532 853 LYD748 pQFNc_LYD748 Phaseolus vulgaris 16062, 16274, 15950, 16234 533 1104 LYD749 pMA-T_LYD749_GA 534 855 LYD750 pQFNc_LYD750 Phaseolus vulgaris 16152, 16184, 15966, 16347 535 856 LYD751 pQFNc_LYD751 Phaseolus vulgaris 16449, 16052, 16433, 16050 536 857 LYD752 TopoB_LYD752 Phaseolus vulgaris 16439, 15866 537 858 LYD753 pUC19c_LYD753 Phaseolus vulgaris 15986, 16356, 16053, 16345 538 1105 LYD754 pQFNc_LYD754 Phaseolus vulgaris 16041, 16187, 15958, 16229 539 860 LYD755 pQFNc_LYD755 Phaseolus vulgaris 15926, 16248, 16174, 16223 540 861 LYD756 pQFNc_LYD756 Phaseolus vulgaris 16090, 16297, 16093, 16299 541 862 LYD757 pQFNc_LYD757 Phaseolus vulgaris 16168, 16240, 15955, 16363 542 863 LYD758 pUC19c_LYD758 Phaseolus vulgaris 16407, 15773, 16407, 15773 543 1106 LYD760 pQFNc_LYD760 Phaseolus vulgaris 16095, 16251, 16095, 16365 544 1107 LYD761 pQFNc_LYD761 Phaseolus vulgaris 16180, 16316 545 866 LYD762 pUC19c_LYD762 Phaseolus vulgaris 16013, 16306, 15974, 16296 546 867 LYD763 pUC19c_LYD763 Phaseolus vulgaris 15929, 16185, 16147, 16249 547 1108 LYD764 pQFNc_LYD764 Phaseolus vulgaris 16403, 15898, 16422, 15887 548 1109 LYD765 pUC19_LYD765 Phaseolus vulgaris 16382, 15787, 16386, 15788 549 1110 LYD767 pQFNc_LYD767 Phaseolus vulgaris 16070, 16228, 16124, 16282 550 871 LYD768 pUC19_LYD768 Phaseolus vulgaris 16123, 16357, 16123, 16357 551 1111 LYD769 pMA-T_LYD769_GA 552 873 LYD771 pUC19c_LYD771 Phaseolus vulgaris 16179, 16305, 15927, 16311 553 1112 LYD772 pQFNc_LYD772 Phaseolus vulgaris 16017, 16230, 16017, 16218 554 1113 LYD773 pMA-T_LYD773_GA 555 876 LYD774 pQFNc_LYD774 Phaseolus vulgaris 16175, 16280, 16110, 16266 556 877 LYD776 pQFNc_LYD776 Phaseolus vulgaris 16038, 16367, 16155, 16244 557 878 LYD777 pQFNc_LYD777 Phaseolus vulgaris 16098, 16337, 16122, 16192 558 879 LYD778 TopoB_LYD778 Phaseolus vulgaris 16054, 16206, 15983, 16232 559 1114 LYD779 pQFNc_LYD779 Phaseolus vulgaris 15827, 15777, 15827, 15770 560 1115 LYD780 pUC19_LYD780 Phaseolus vulgaris 15994, 16253, 16158, 16364 561 882 LYD781 pQFNc_LYD781 Phaseolus vulgaris 16101, 16290, 16101, 16268 562 1116 LYD782 pQFNc_LYD782 Phaseolus vulgaris 16178, 16352, 16163, 16336 563 1117 LYD783 pMA_LYD783_GA 564 885 LYD784 pMK-T_LYD784_GA 565 886 LYD785 TopoB_LYD785 Phaseolus vulgaris 16154, 16286, 15998, 16353 566 887 LYD786 pUC19_LYD786 Phaseolus vulgaris 15981, 16348 567 888 LYD788 pUC19c_LYD788 Phaseolus vulgaris 16373, 15871, 16373, 15882 568 889 LYD789 pMA-T_LYD789_GA 569 890 LYD790 pQFNc_LYD790 Phaseolus vulgaris 16043, 16275, 15991, 16275 570 1118 LYD791 TopoB_LYD791 Phaseolus vulgaris 16018, 16273, 16042, 16260 571 892 LYD792 pUC19c_LYD792 Phaseolus vulgaris 16445, 15778, 16444, 15794 572 1119 LYD793 pQFNc_LYD793 Phaseolus vulgaris 16459, 15792, 16459, 15782 573 1120 LYD794 pQFNc_LYD794 Phaseolus vulgaris 16057, 16264, 16057, 16264 574 895 LYD795 pUC19_LYD795 Phaseolus vulgaris 16171, 16287, 16119, 16257 575 896 LYD796 pUC19c_LYD796 Phaseolus vulgaris 16141, 16233, 16141, 16233 576 897 LYD798 pQFNc_LYD798 Phaseolus vulgaris 16377, 15954, 16393, 16055 577 1121 LYD799 pQFNc_LYD799 Phaseolus vulgaris 16446, 15919, 16446, 15919 578 1122 LYD800 pUC19c_LYD800 Phaseolus vulgaris 16049, 16320, 16177, 16320 579 901 LYD801 pQFNc_LYD801 Phaseolus vulgaris 15987, 16241, 15999, 16241 580 902 LYD802 TopoB_LYD802 Phaseolus vulgaris 16405, 16020 581 903 LYD803 pQFNc_LYD803 Phaseolus vulgaris 16067, 16328, 16102, 16208 582 904 LYD804 pMA-T_LYD804_GA 583 905 LYD806 pUC19c_LYD806 Phaseolus vulgaris 16432, 16088, 16401, 15967 584 1123 LYD807 pQFNc_LYD807 Phaseolus vulgaris 16392, 15863, 16371, 15881 585 1124 LYD809 pQFNc_LYD809 Phaseolus vulgaris 16077, 16332, 16161, 16235 586 908 LYD810 pUC19_LYD810 Phaseolus vulgaris 16009, 16255 587 1125 LYD811 pQFNc_LYD811 Phaseolus vulgaris 15997, 16350 588 1126 LYD812 pUC19c_LYD812 Phaseolus vulgaris 15839, 16197, 15839, 16197 589 911 LYD813 pQFNc_LYD8l3 Phaseolus vulgaris 15936, 16349, 15962, 16200 590 1127 LYD814 pQFNc_LYD8l4 Phaseolus vulgaris 16010, 16226, 16010, 16226 591 1128 LYD815 pUC19_LYD815 Phaseolus vulgaris 16059, 16326 592 914 LYD816 pUC19c_LYD816 Phaseolus vulgaris 16008, 16224, 16159, 16256 593 1129 LYD817 pQFNc_LYD817 Phaseolus vulgaris 15824, 16463, 15838, 16463 594 916 LYD818 pQFNc_LYD818 Phaseolus vulgaris 16438, 16164, 16438, 16164 595 1130 LYD819 pQFNc_LYD819 Phaseolus vulgaris 15951, 16338, 16176, 16252 596 918 LYD821 pQFNc_LYD821 Phaseolus vulgaris 16031, 16346 597 919 LYD823 pQFNc_LYD823 Phaseolus vulgaris 15944, 16485, 15944, 16485 598 921 LYD824 pMA-T_LYD824_GA 599 922 LYD825 pQFNc_LYD825 Phaseolus vulgaris 16033, 16479, 16033, 16479 600 923 LYD826 pQFNc_LYD826 Phaseolus vulgaris 15952, 16278, 16104, 16278 601 924 LYD828 pQFNc_LYD828 Phaseolus vulgaris 16094, 16284, 16094, 16284 602 1131 LYD829 pUC19_LYD829 Phaseolus vulgaris 16146, 16302, 16146, 16245 603 1132 LYD830 pQFNc_LYD830 Phaseolus vulgaris 16113, 16239, 16071, 16221 604 928 LYD831 pUC19c_LYD831 CANOLA Brassica napus 15825, 15780, 15825, 15772 605 929 LYD833 pQFNc_LYD833 CANOLA Brassica napus 16132, 16339, 16064, 16307 606 930 LYD834 pQFNc_LYD834 CANOLA Brassica napus 15937, 16183, 15937, 16183 607 1133 LYD835 pMA-T_LYD835_GA 608 932 LYD836 pQFNc_LYD836 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16406, 15868, 16434, 15912 609 933 LYD837 pQFNc_LYD837 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 15965, 16271, 15965, 16272 610 934 LYD838 pQFNc_LYD838 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 15931, 16194 611 935 LYD839 pQFNc_LYD839 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16455, 15873, 16455, 15873 612 936 LYD840 pQFNc_LYD840 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16397, 15896 613 937 LYD841 pQFNc_LYD841 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 15949, 16254, 16047, 16358 614 1134 LYD842 pQFNc_LYD842 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16167, 16324, 15941, 16250 615 939 LYD843 pQFNc_LYD843 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16389, 15877, 16389, 15877 616 940 LYD844 pUC19c_LYD844 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16400, 15894, 16400, 15894 617 1135 LYD845 pQFNc_LYD845 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16143, 16182 618 1136 LYD846 pQFNc_LYD846 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16391, 15902, 16378, 15893 619 1137 LYD847 pQFNc_LYD847 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16030, 16343, 16030, 16343 620 1138 LYD848 pUC19_LYD848 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16426, 16061 621 945 LYD849 pQFNc_LYD849 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 15842, 15888, 15856, 15889 622 1139 LYD850 pQFNc_LYD850 COTTON Gossypium hirsutum 16000, 16291, 16000, 16291 623 1140 LYD851 pMA-RQ_LYD851_GA 624 948 LYD852 pUC19c_LYD852 Medicago 16415, 15910, 16447, 15886 625 1141 LYD853 pMA-T_LYD853_GA 626 950 LYD854 pMA-T_LYD854_GA 627 951 LYD855 pMA_LYD855_GA 628 952 LYD856 pUC19c_LYD856 Medicago 16417, 16475, 16417, 16475 629 1142 LYD857 pMA-T_LYD857_GA 630 954 LYD858 pUC19c_LYD858 RICE Oryza sativa L. 16091, 16262, 16091, 16262 631 955 LYD859 pQFNc_LYD859 RICE Oryza sativa L. 15988, 16211 632 956 LYD860 pQFNc_LYD860 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16065, 16222, 16014, 16243 633 957 LYD861 pUC19c_LYD861 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16458, 16478, 16458, 16478 634 958 LYD863 pMA-RQ_LYD863_GA 635 959 LYD864 pQFNc_LYD864 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16089, 16231 636 960 LYD865 pQFNc_LYD865 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15957, 16331, 16044, 16216 637 1143 LYD866 pMA-RQ_LYD866_GA 638 962 LYD867 pMA-RQ_LYD867_GA 639 963 LYD868 pQFNc_LYD868 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15985, 16313, 15985, 16313 640 1144 LYD869_H1 pMA-RQ_LYD869_H1_GA 696 1021 LYD870 pUC19_LYD870 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15971, 16362, 16136, 16269 641 966 LYD871 pQFNc_LYD871 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16066, 16323, 16066, 16329 642 967 LYD872 pUC19c_LYD872 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16165, 16351, 16165, 16351 643 968 LYD873 pQFNc_LYD873 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16112, 16368, 16022, 16270 644 969 LYD874 pUC19_LYD874 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16138, 16340, 15979, 16315 645 970 LYD876 pQFNc_LYD876 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16396, 16082, 16442, 15968 646 971 LYD877 pQFNc_LYD877 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15964, 16333, 16097, 16203 647 972 LYD878 pUC19_LYD878 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16416, 15789, 16440, 15767 648 973 LYD879 pMA_LYD879_GA 649 974 LYD880 pMA-T_LYD880_GA 650 975 LYD881 pQFNc_LYD881 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16007, 16259, 15947, 16259 651 1145 LYD882 pOFNc_LYD882 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16381, 15776, 16437, 15781 652 977 LYD883 pUC19_LYD883 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16105, 16212, 16105, 16354 653 978 LYD884 pQFNc_LYD884 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15989, 16214, 15976, 16369 654 979 LYD886 pQFNc_LYD886 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16106, 16355, 16115, 16195 655 980 LYD887 pUC19_LYD887 SOYBEAN Glycine max 16408, 15920, 16408, 15920 656 981 LYD888 pMA-RQ_LYD888_GA 657 982 LYD890 pUC19_LYD890 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15930, 16370 658 983 LYD891 pUC19_LYD891 SOYBEAN Glycine max 15833, 15900, 15811, 15872 659 1146 LYD892 pMA-T_LYD892_GA 660 985 LYD893 pQFNc_LYD893 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15878, 16285 661 986 LYD894 pQFNc_LYD894 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15925, 16361, 15925, 16361 662 987 LYD895 pQFNc_LYD895 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15948, 16283, 16149, 16265 663 988 LYD896 pQFNc_LYD896 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15779, 15914, 15779, 15915 664 989 LYD897 pUC19_LYD897 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16068, 16279, 16129, 16279 665 990 LYD898 pQFNc_LYD898 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16380, 15939, 16418, 16142 666 991 LYD899 pQFNc_LYD899 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15938, 16301 667 1147 LYD900 pQFNc_LYD900 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15995, 16267, 15995, 16263 668 1148 LYD901 pQFNc_LYD901 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15959, 16213, 15959, 16213 669 994 LYD902 pQFNc_LYD902 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16480, 16484, 16480, 16484 670 995 LYD903 TopoB_LYD903 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16425, 15786, 16387, 15785 671 996 LYD904 pUC19_LYD904 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16384, 15922, 16404, 15921 672 1149 LYD905 pMA_LYD905_GA 673 998 LYD906 pUC19_LYD906 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16457, 15901 674 999 LYD907 pQFNc_LYD907 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15943, 15891, 15943, 15891 675 1000 LYD908 pQFNc_LYD908 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16374, 15905, 16374, 15905 676 1150 LYD909 pUC19c_LYD909 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16421, 15883, 16421, 15883 677 1002 LYD910 pMA-T_LYD910_GA 678 1003 LYD911 pUC19_LYD911 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15992, 16209, 16107, 16237 679 1151 LYD912 pMA-T_LYD912_GA 680 1005 LYD913 pQFNc_LYD913 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16083, 16310 681 1006 LYD914 pMA-T_LYD914_GA 682 1007 LYD915 pMA-RQ_LYD915_GA 683 1008 LYD917 pMA-T_LYD917_GA 684 1009 LYD918 pQFNc_LYD918 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16156, 16238, 16117, 16314 685 1010 LYD919 pQFNc_LYD919 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16092, 16366, 16002, 16190 686 1011 LYD920 pQFNc_LYD920 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16126, 16295, 16157, 16295 687 1012 LYD921 TopoB_LYD921 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16413, 15765, 16453, 15774 688 1152 LYD922 pMA-T_LYD922_GA 689 1014 LYD923 TopoB_LYD923 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 15799, 15797, 15799, 15797 690 1153 LYD924 pUC19_LYD924 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16428, 16144, 16395, 15975 691 1016 LYD925 pQFNc_LYD925 TOMATO Lycopersicum ND 16116, 16330, 16012, 16277 692 1017 LYD926 pMA-T_LYD926_GA 693 1018 LYD929 pQFNc_LYD929 Phaseolus vulgaris 15852, 15879, 15843, 15876 694 1019 LYD930 pMA-T_LYD930_GA 695 1020 MGP1 pUCsFN_MGP1 cotton 16074, 16359, 16169, 16360 704 1029 MGP14 pMA-RQ_MGP14_GA 477 797 MGP2 pMA-T_MGP2_GA 705 1030 MGP4 pUCsFN_MGP4 Soybean 16166, 15854, 16005, 15806 706 1031 MGP5 pMA-T_MGP5_GA 707 1032 MGP7 pQFNc_MGP7 SORGHUM Sorghum bicolor 16080, 15870, 16080, 15870 708 1034 MGP9 pMA-RQ_MGP9_GA 709 1035 Provided are the gene names, cluster names, organisms from which they were derived, and polynucleotide and polypeptide sequence identifiers of selected genes of some embodiments of the invention. “GA”—Gene Art (synthetically prepared gene sequence).

Example 23 Transforming Agrobacterium tumefaciens Cells with Binary Vectors Harboring Putative Genes

Each of the binary vectors described in Example 22 above were used to transform Agrobacterium cells. Two additional binary constructs, having only the At6669 or the 35S promoter, or no additional promoter were used as negative controls.

The binary vectors were introduced to Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV301 or LB4404 (for Arabidopsis) or AGL1 (for Brachypodium) competent cells (about 10⁹ cells/mL) by electroporation. The electroporation was performed using a MicroPulser electroporator (Biorad), 0.2 cm cuvettes (Biorad) and EC-2 electroporation program (Biorad). The treated cells were cultured in LB liquid medium at 28° C. for 3 hours, then plated over LB agar supplemented with gentamycin (for Arabidopsis; 50 mg/L; for Agrobacterium strains GV301) or streptomycin (for Arabidopsis; 300 mg/L; for Agrobacterium strain LB4404); or with Carbenicillin (for Brachypodium; 50 mg/L) and kanamycin (for Arabidopsis and Brachypodium; 50 mg/L) at 28° C. for 48 hours. Abrobacterium colonies, which were developed on the selective media, were further analyzed by PCR using the primers designed to span the inserted sequence in the pPI plasmid. The resulting PCR products were isolated and sequenced to verify that the correct polynucleotide sequences of the invention are properly introduced to the Agrobacterium cells.

Example 24 Producing Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants Expressing Selected Genes According to Some Embodiments of the Invention

Materials and Experimental Methods

Plant transformation—The Arabidopsis thaliana var Columbia (To plants) were transformed according to the Floral Dip procedure [Clough S J, Bent A F. (1998) Floral dip: a simplified method for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J. 16(6): 735-43; and Desfeux C, Clough S J, Bent A F. (2000) Female reproductive tissues were the primary targets of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation by the Arabidopsis floral-dip method. Plant Physiol. 123(3): 895-904] with minor modifications. Briefly, Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia (Co10) T₀ plants were sown in 250 ml pots filled with wet peat-based growth mix. The pots were covered with aluminum foil and a plastic dome, kept at 4° C. for 3-4 days, then uncovered and incubated in a growth chamber at 18-24° C. under 16/8 hours light/dark cycles. The T₀ plants were ready for transformation six days before anthesis.

Single colonies of Agrobacterium carrying the binary vectors harboring the yield genes were cultured in LB medium supplemented with kanamycin (50 mg/L) and gentamycin (50 mg/L). The cultures were incubated at 28° C. for 48 hours under vigorous shaking and centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 5 minutes. The pellets comprising Agrobacterium cells were resuspended in a transformation medium which contained half-strength (2.15 g/L) Murashige-Skoog (Duchefa); 0.044 μM benzylamino purine (Sigma); 112 μg/L B5 Gambourg vitamins (Sigma); 5% sucrose; and 0.2 ml/L Silwet L-77 (OSI Specialists, CT) in double-distilled water, at pH of 5.7.

Transformation of T₀ plants was performed by inverting each plant into an Agrobacterium suspension such that the above ground plant tissue was submerged for 3-5 seconds. Each inoculated T₀ plant was immediately placed in a plastic tray, then covered with clear plastic dome to maintain humidity and was kept in the dark at room temperature for 18 hours to facilitate infection and transformation. Transformed (transgenic) plants were then uncovered and transferred to a greenhouse for recovery and maturation. The transgenic T₀ plants were grown in the greenhouse for 3-5 weeks until siliques were brown and dry, then seeds were harvested from plants and kept at room temperature until sowing.

For generating T₁ and T₂ transgenic plants harboring the genes, seeds collected from transgenic T₀ plants were surface-sterilized by soaking in 70% ethanol for 1 minute, followed by soaking in 5% sodium hypochlorite and 0.05% triton for 5 minutes. The surface-sterilized seeds were thoroughly washed in sterile distilled water then placed on culture plates containing half-strength Murashig-Skoog (Duchefa); 2% sucrose; 0.8% plant agar; 50 mM kanamycin; and 200 mM carbenicylin (Duchefa). The culture plates were incubated at 4° C. for 48 hours then transferred to a growth room at 25° C. for an additional week of incubation. Vital T₁ Arabidopsis plants were transferred to a fresh culture plates for another week of incubation. Following incubation the T₁ plants were removed from culture plates and planted in growth mix contained in 250 ml pots. The transgenic plants were allowed to grow in a greenhouse to maturity. Seeds harvested from T₁ plants were cultured and grown to maturity as T2 plants under the same conditions as used for culturing and growing the T₁ plants.

Example 25 Transformation of Brachypodium Distachyon Plants with the Polynucleotides of the Invention

Similar to the Arabidopsis model plant, Brachypodium distachyon has several features that recommend it as a model plant for functional genomic studies, especially in the grasses. Traits that make it an ideal model include its small genome (˜160 Mbp for a diploid genome and 355 Mbp for a polyploidy genome), small physical stature, a short lifecycle, and few growth requirements. Brachypodium is related to the major cereal grain species but is understood to be more closely related to the Triticeae (wheat, barley) than to the other cereals. Brachypodium, with its polyploidy accessions, can serve as an ideal model for these grains (whose genomics size and complexity is a major barrier to biotechnological improvement).

Brachypodium distachyon embryogenic calli are transformed using the procedure described by Vogel and Hill (2008) [High-efficiency Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Brachypodium distachyon inbred line Bd21-3. Plant Cell Rep 27:471-478], Vain et al (2008) [Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the temperate grass Brachypodium distachyon (genotypeBd21) for T-DNA insertional mutagenesis. Plant Biotechnology J 6: 236-245], and Vogel J, et al. (2006) [Agrobacterium mediated transformation and inbred line development in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. Plant Cell Tiss Org. Cult. 85:199-211], each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference, with some minor modifications, which are briefly summarized hereinbelow.

Callus initiation—Immature spikes (about 2 months after seeding) are harvested at the very beginning of seeds filling. Spikes are then husked and surface sterilized with 3% NaClO containing 0.1% Tween 20, shaken on a gyratory shaker at low speed for 20 minutes. Following three rinses with sterile distilled water, embryos are excised under a dissecting microscope in a laminar flow hood using fine forceps.

Excised embryos (size˜0.3 mm, bell shaped) are placed on callus induction medium (CIM) [LS salts (Linsmaier, E. M. & Skoog, F. 1965. Physiol. Plantarum 18, 100) and vitamins plus 3% sucrose, 6 mg/L CuSO₄, 2.5 mg/l 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, pH 5.8 and 0.25% phytagel (Sigma)] scutellar side down, 100 embryos on a plate, and incubated at 28° C. in the dark. One week later, the embryonic calli is cleaned from emerging roots, shoots and somatic calli, and was subcultured onto fresh CIM medium. During culture, yellowish embryogenic callus (EC) appeared and are further selected (e.g., picked and transferred) for further incubation in the same conditions for additional 2 weeks. Twenty-five pieces of sub-cultured calli are then separately placed on 90×15 mm petri plates, and incubated as before for three additional weeks.

Transformation—As described in Vogel and Hill (2008, Supra), Agrobacterium is scraped off 2-day-old MGL plates (plates with the MGL medium which contains: Tryptone 5 g/l, Yeast Extract 2.5 g/l, NaCl 5 g/l, D-Mannitol 5 g/l, MgSO₄*7H₂O 0.204 g/l, K₂HPO₄ 0.25 g/l, Glutamic Acid 1.2 g/l, Plant Agar 7.5 g/l) and resuspended in liquid MS medium supplemented with 200 μM acetosyringone to an optic density (OD) at 600 nm (OD600) of 0.6. Once the desired OD was attained, 1 mL of 10% Synperonic PE/F68 (Sigma) per 100 mL of inoculation medium is added.

To begin inoculation, 300 callus pieces are placed in approximately 12 plates (25 callus pieces in each plate) and covered with the Agrobacterium suspension (8-8.5 ml). The callus is incubated in the Agrobacterium suspension for 15 minutes with occasional gentle rocking. After incubation, the Agrobacterium suspension is aspirated off and the calli are then transferred into co-cultivation plates, prepared by placing a sterile 7-cm diameter filter paper in an empty 90×15 mm petri plate. The calli pieces are then gently distributed on the filter paper. One co-cultivation plate is used for two starting callus plates (50 initial calli pieces). The co-cultivation plates are then sealed with parafilm and incubated at 22° C. in the dark for 3 days.

The callus pieces are then individually transferred onto CIM medium as described above, which is further supplemented with 200 mg/l Ticarcillin (to kill the Agrobacterium) and Bialaphos (5 mg/L) (for selection of the transformed resistant embryogenic calli sections), and incubated at 28° C. in the dark for 14 days.

The calli pieces are then transferred to shoot induction media (SIM; LS salts and vitamins plus 3% Maltose monohydrate) supplemented with 200 mg/l Ticarcillin, Bialaphos (5 mg/L), Indol-3-acetic acid (IAA) (0.25 mg/L), and 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) (1 mg/L), and are sub-cultured in light to the same media after 10 days (total of 20 days). At each sub-culture all the pieces from a single callus are kept together to maintain their independence and are incubated under the following conditions: lighting to a level of 60 lE m-2 s-1, a 16-h light, 8-h dark photoperiod and a constant 24° C. temperature. Plantlets emerged from the transformed calli.

When plantlets are large enough to handle without damage, they are transferred to plates containing the above mentioned shoot induction media (SIM) without Bialaphos. Each plantlet is considered as a different event. The plantlets grew axillary tillers and eventually became bushy. Each bush from the same plant (event ID) is then divided to tissue culture boxes (“Humus”) containing “rooting medium” [MS basal salts, 3% sucrose, 3 g/L phytagel, 2 mg/l α-Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) and 1 mg/L IAA and Ticarcillin 200 mg/L, PH 5.8). All plants in a “Humus box” are different plants of the same transformation event.

When plantlets establish roots they are transplanted to soil and transferred to a greenhouse. To verify the transgenic status of plants containing the other constructs, T0 plants are subjected to PCR as previously described by Vogel et al. 2006 [Agrobacterium mediated transformation and inbred line development in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. Plant Cell Tiss Org. Cult. 85:199-211].

Example 26 Evaluation of Transgenic Arabidopsis for Seed Yield and Plant Growth Rate Under Normal Conditions in Greenhouse Assays (GH -SM Assays)

Assay 1: Seed yield, plant biomass and plant growth rate under normal greenhouse conditions—This assay follows seed yield production, the biomass formation and the rosette area growth of plants grown in the greenhouse at non-limiting nitrogen growth conditions. Transgenic Arabidopsis seeds were sown in agar media supplemented with ½ MS medium and a selection agent (Kanamycin). The T2 transgenic seedlings were then transplanted to 1.7 trays filled with peat and perlite in a 1:1 ratio. The plant were grown under normal growth conditions which included irrigation of the trays with a solution containing 6 mM inorganic nitrogen in the form of KNO₃ with 1 mM KH₂PO₄, 1 mM MgSO₄, 2 mM CaCl₂ and microelements. Under normal conditions the plants grow in a controlled environment in a closed transgenic greenhouse, temperature about 18-22° C., humidity around 70%. Irrigation was done by flooding with a water solution containing 6 mM N (nitrogen) (as described hereinabove), and flooding was repeated whenever water loss reached 50%. All plants were grown in the greenhouse until mature seeds. Seeds were harvested, extracted and weighted. The remaining plant biomass (the above ground tissue) was also harvested, and weighted immediately or following drying in oven at 50° C. for 24 hours.

Each construct was validated at its T2 generation. Transgenic plants transformed with a construct conformed by an empty vector carrying the At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15751) and the selectable marker are used as control.

The plants were analyzed for their overall size, growth rate, flowering, seed yield, 1,000-seed weight, dry matter and harvest index (HI— seed yield/dry matter). Transgenic plants performance was compared to control plants grown in parallel under the same (e.g., identical) conditions. Mock-transgenic plants expressing the uidA reporter gene (GUS-Intron) or with no gene at all, under the same promoter were used as controls.

The experiment was planned in nested randomized plot distribution. For each gene of the invention three to five independent transformation events were analyzed from each construct.

Digital imaging—A laboratory image acquisition system, which consists of a digital reflex camera (Canon EOS 300D) attached with a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-S series), mounted on a reproduction device (Kaiser R S), which includes 4 light units (4×150 Watts light bulb) was used for capturing images of plant samples.

The image capturing process was repeated every 2 days starting from day 1 after transplanting till day 15. Same camera, placed in a custom made iron mount, was used for capturing images of larger plants sawn in white tubs in an environmental controlled greenhouse. The tubs were square shape include 1.7 liter trays. During the capture process, the tubs were placed beneath the iron mount, while avoiding direct sun light and casting of shadows.

An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.39 [Java based image processing program which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet at/rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Images are captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data was calculated, including leaf number, rosette area, rosette diameter, and leaf blade area.

Vegetative Growth Rate:

the relative growth rate (RGR) of leaf number [Formula VIII (described above)], rosette area (Formula IX above), plot coverage (Formula XI above) and harvest index (Formula XV above) were calculated with the indicated formulas.

Seeds average weight—At the end of the experiment all seeds were collected. The seeds were scattered on a glass tray and a picture is taken. Using the digital analysis, the number of seeds in each sample was calculated.

Dry weight and seed yield—On about day 80 from sowing, the plants were harvested and left to dry at 30° C. in a drying chamber. The vegetative portion above ground was separated from the seeds. The total weight of the vegetative portion above ground and the seed weight of each plot were measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 30° C. in a drying chamber;

Seed yield per plant=total seed weight per plant (gr.).

1000 seed weight (the weight of 1000 seeds) (gr.).

Oil percentage in seeds—At the end of the experiment all seeds from each plot were collected. Seeds from 3 plots were mixed grounded and then mounted onto the extraction chamber. 210 ml of n-Hexane (Cat No. 080951 Biolab Ltd.) were used as the solvent. The extraction was performed for 30 hours at medium heat 50° C. Once the extraction has ended the n-Hexane was evaporated using the evaporator at 35° C. and vacuum conditions. The process was repeated twice. The information gained from the Soxhlet extractor (Soxhlet, F. Die gewichtsanalytische Bestimmung des Milchfettes, Polytechnisches J. (Dingler's) 1879, 232, 461) is used to create a calibration curve for the Low Resonance NMR. The content of oil of all seed samples was determined using the Low Resonance NMR (MARAN Ultra—Oxford Instrument) and its MultiQuant software package.

Silique length analysis—On day 50 from sowing, 30 siliques from different plants in each plot were sampled in block A. The chosen siliques were green-yellow in color and were collected from the bottom parts of a grown plant's stem. A digital photograph was taken to determine silique's length.

Statistical analyses—To identify outperforming genes and constructs, results from the independent transformation events tested were analyzed separately. Data was analyzed using Student's t-test and results were considered significant if the p value was less than 0.1. The JMP statistics software package was used (Version 5.2.1, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C., USA).

Tables 173-177 summarize the observed phenotypes of transgenic plants exogenously expressing the gene constructs using the seed maturation (GH-SM) assays under normal conditions. The evaluation of each gene was performed by testing the performance of different number of events. Event with p-value<0.1 was considered statistically significant.

TABLE 173 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Inflorescence Dry Weight [mg] Flowering Emergence Gene P- % P- % P- % Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LGP77 81452.2 — — — 24.0 0.04 −6 — — — CONT. — — — — 25.4 — — — — — LGP53 76966.2 1068.2 0.26 9 — — — — — — LGP53 76968.1 1135.9 0.20 16 — — — — — — LGP52 76962.1 1075.0 0.16 10 — — — — — — LGP52 76963.1 — — — 20.8 0.19 −3 15.6 0.28 −3 LGP52 76963.3 — — — 20.7 0.18 −3 14.6 L −9 CONT. — 976.9 — — 21.5 — — 16.0 — — LGP58 76971.1 1042.1 0.19 7 — — — — — — LGP48 77202.1 1108.8 L 14 — — — — — — LGP48 77203.2 1061.6 0.15 9 — — — — — — LGP48 77204.6 1009.7 0.28 4 — — — — — — LGP47 76960.1 1081.2 L 11 — — — — — — LGP47 76960.2 1057.1 0.09 9 — — — — — — LGP47 76960.3 1013.4 0.28 5 — — — — — — CONT. — 976.9 — — — — — — — — LYD930 83831.3 1766.2 0.14 22 — — — — — — LYD930 83832.3 1621.2 0.13 12 — — — — — — LYD930 83833.1 1588.8 0.05 10 — — — — — — LYD930 83834.3 1566.7 0.11 8 — — — — — — LYD881 84058.2 1517.5 0.28 5 — — — — — — LYD877 83630.3 1810.0 0.23 25 — — — — — — LYD877 83631.2 1598.8 0.04 10 — — — — — — LYD863 83808.4 1778.1 L 23 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.6 1744.2 L 20 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.7 1630.0 0.09 12 — — — — — — LYD846 83531.3 1526.2 0.22 5 — — — — — — LYD846 83533.4 2084.4 L 44 — — — — — — LYD831 83805.1 1538.1 0.20 6 — — — — — — LYD788 83798.4 — — — 21.2 0.03 −4 — — — LYD779 83704.1 1551.9 0.23 7 — — — — — — LYD779 83704.2 1662.5 0.27 15 — — — — — — LYD776 83944.1 1635.8 0.23 13 — — — — — — LYD776 83947.6 1563.1 0.11 8 — — — — — — LYD764 83479.4 1845.0 L 27 — — — — — — LYD764 83480.1 1701.9 L 17 — — — — — — LYD764 83483.1 1538.1 0.18 6 — — — — — — LYD764 83483.6 1609.4 0.07 11 — — — — — — LYD715 84158.1 1735.6 0.28 20 21.3 0.04 −3 — — — LYD715 84158.3 — — — 21.5 0.22 −2 — — — LYD710 83893.2 1704.9 L 18 — — — — — — LYD710 83895.3 1765.6 L 22 21.2 0.18 −4 — — — LYD710 83895.6 1726.9 0.08 19 — — — — — — LYD710 83896.4 1551.9 0.12 7 — — — — — — LYD708 83451.1 1572.4 0.07 8 — — — — — — LYD708 83451.2 1636.9 0.14 13 — — — — — — LYD708 83451.5 1611.7 0.03 11 — — — — — — LYD700 84150.3 1870.0 L 29 — — — — — — LYD698 83778.1 1630.0 0.02 12 — — — — — — LYD698 83780.3 1558.1 0.23 7 — — — — — — CONT. — 1450.2 — — 22.0 — — — — — LGP77 81452.2 1327.4 0.18 14 20.7 0.18 −3 — — — LGP77 81453.2 — — — 20.6 0.07 −4 — — — LGP77 81453.3 — — — 20.6 0.07 −4 — — — LGP77 81456.3 — — — 20.5 0.06 −4 — — — CONT. — 1160.8 — — 21.4 — — — — — LGP73 81449.7 1240.8 0.07 6 — — — — — — LGP73 81449.8 1391.7 L 19 20.5 0.09 −4 — — — CONT. — 1169.1 — — 21.4 — — — — — LYD930 83831.3 — — — 19.1 L −10 — — — LYD930 83832.3 1219.4 0.08 5 20.1 0.03 −6 — — — LYD881 84058.5 — — — 20.3 0.20 −5 — — — LYD881 84058.6 1208.8 0.15 4 — — — — — — LYD881 84060.4 1221.9 0.16 5 — — — — — — LYD877 83630.2 1256.2 0.01 8 — — — — — — LYD877 83630.3 1223.8 0.08 6 — — — — — — LYD863 83808.2 — — — 20.5 0.30 −4 — — — LYD863 83808.4 1251.9 0.02 8 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.6 1420.0 L 23 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.7 1326.9 0.08 14 — — — — — — LYD846 83531.3 1266.2 0.09 9 — — — — — — LYD846 83531.4 1255.6 0.04 8 — — — — — — LYD831 83803.1 1208.8 0.13 4 — — — — — — LYD831 83803.3 — — — 20.0 0.02 −6 — — — LYD831 83803.5 — — — 20.8 0.29 −3 — — — LYD831 83803.6 1236.9 0.16 7 — — — — — — LYD788 83798.4 1360.6 L 17 — — — — — — LYD788 83800.1 1206.2 0.22 4 — — — — — — LYD788 83800.5 1207.5 0.16 4 — — — — — — LYD783 84170.3 1327.6 0.04 15 — — — — — — LYD783 84172.2 1290.0 0.15 11 — — — — — — LYD779 83704.2 1286.9 0.28 11 20.2 0.04 −6 — — — LYD764 83479.4 1370.6 L 18 20.2 0.04 −6 — — — LYD764 83480.1 1291.9 0.05 11 — — — — — — LYD764 83483.1 1194.4 0.29 3 — — — — — — LYD740 83461.2 1228.1 0.18 6 — — — — — — LYD740 83462.1 1272.5 0.17 10 — — — — — — LYD715 84155.1 1223.8 0.06 6 — — — — — — LYD715 84155.5 — — — 20.3 0.05 −5 — — — LYD715 84156.5 1267.5 L 9 — — — — — — LYD715 84158.1 1298.8 0.21 12 — — — — — — LYD715 84158.3 1336.9 0.05 15 — — — — — — LYD713 83788.1 1247.5 0.02 8 — — — — — — LYD713 83788.3 1381.9 0.04 19 — — — — — — LYD713 83789.2 1201.9 0.18 4 — — — — — — LYD713 83789.3 1211.4 0.11 5 — — — — — — LYD708 83451.1 1212.5 0.12 5 — — — — — — LYD708 83451.6 1283.2 0.04 11 — — — — — — LYD698 83778.1 1240.0 0.03 7 — — — — — — CONT. — 1159.1 — — 21.3 — — — — — LYD919 83642.2 1188.1 0.21 5 — — — — — — LYD919 83644.3 1259.4 0.02 11 — — — — — — LYD913 84195.2 1213.7 0.13 7 — — — — — — LYD913 84195.4 1288.8 0.24 14 20.2 L −6 — — — LYD913 84198.4 1213.1 0.11 7 — — — — — — LYD913 84198.7 1181.9 0.27 5 — — — 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD909 84174.1 1212.4 0.26 7 — — — 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD909 84174.2 1251.6 0.03 11 — — — — — — LYD909 84174.4 — — — 20.4 0.02 −6 — — — LYD909 84177.1 — — — — — — 13.8 0.23 −3 LYD900 83738.10 1216.9 0.19 8 — — — — — — LYD900 83738.14 1198.1 0.15 6 20.5 0.04 −5 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD900 83738.8 1220.6 0.27 8 19.6 0.04 −9 — — — LYD898 83640.1 — — — 19.9 0.19 −8 — — — LYD898 83641.5 1323.1 L 17 — — — — — — LYD898 83641.6 1200.0 0.14 6 20.4 0.02 −6 — — — LYD898 83641.8 — — — 20.9 0.25 −3 — — — LYD896 83659.2 1488.3 0.03 32 20.0 L −7 — — — LYD896 83661.1 1190.0 0.24 5 — — — — — — LYD896 83661.2 1219.4 0.26 8 — — — — — — LYD895 83537.4 — — — 20.4 0.11 −6 — — — LYD893 83952.5 — — — 20.2 L −6 — — — LYD893 83952.6 1183.8 0.24 5 21.1 0.19 −2 — — — LYD893 83952.7 — — — 19.9 L −8 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD886 83636.1 1199.3 0.29 6 — — — — — — LYD882 84064.4 — — — 20.6 0.27 −5 — — — LYD882 84065.1 1322.1 L 17 — — — — — — LYD871 83715.4 1208.8 0.22 7 — — — — — — LYD871 83716.2 — — — 20.3 0.01 −6 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD848 84290.1 — — — — — — 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD848 84290.3 1238.8 0.13 10 20.4 0.10 −6 — — — LYD840 84081.1 1194.4 0.25 6 21.2 0.30 −2 13.8 0.23 −3 LYD840 84085.2 1198.8 0.21 6 — — — 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD786 84582.1 1222.5 0.23 8 — — — 13.8 0.23 −3 LYD786 84582.2 1255.0 0.03 11 — — — — — — LYD786 84584.4 — — — 20.6 0.18 −5 — — — LYD786 84585.4 1214.4 0.09 8 — — — — — — LYD746 83898.2 — — — 20.1 L −7 — — — LYD746 83902.4 1208.1 0.25 7 20.4 0.25 −5 — — — LYD745 84261.1 1236.9 0.08 9 — — — — — — LYD745 84262.1 1427.2 0.14 26 17.0 L −21 12.0 0.26 −15 LYD745 84263.1 — — — 20.4 0.02 −6 — — — LYD745 84264.2 — — — — — — 13.9 0.24 −2 LYD733 83766.2 1289.4 0.26 14 — — — — — — LYD733 83768.1 1246.0 0.18 10 — — — — — — LYD717 84353.1 1200.0 0.26 6 — — — — — — LYD717 84356.1 1296.7 0.28 15 20.9 0.11 −3 — — — CONT. — 1129.6 — — 21.6 — — 14.2 — — LGP32 75394.2 — — — — — — 23.1 0.20 −2 LGP32 75397.4 — — — 29.0 0.15 −2 22.7 0.03 −4 CONT. — — — — 29.6 — — 23.5 — — LGP74 81326.1 — — — 34.8 L −5 27.4 0.07 −4 LGP74 81328.1 — — — 35.5 L −3 27.3 0.03 −4 LGP74 81328.3 — — — — — — 27.0 L −5 CONT. — — — — 36.7 — — 28.6 — — LGP43 76955.1 — — — — — — 18.0 0.26 −1 LGP43 76955.2 — — — 21.9 0.23 −2 18.0 0.26 −1 CONT. — — — — 22.4 — — 18.3 — — LGP71 82500.4 1447.5 0.13 9 — — — — — — LGP71 82502.4 1415.0 0.28 7 — — — — — — LGP71 82503.1 1568.3 0.12 18 24.0 0.21 −4 — — — CONT. — 1328.1 — — 25.2 — — — — — LGP1 76250.4 — — — — — — 18.0 0.18 −0 CONT. — — — — — — — 18.1 — — LGP73 81449.8 1539.6 0.07 12 — — — — — — CONT. — 1375.8 — — — — — — — — LGP71 82503.1 — — — 24.0 0.03 −8 — — — CONT. — — — — 26.1 — — — — — LGP34 75739.3 909.4 0.17 4 — — — — — — CONT. — 878.3 — — — — — — — — LYD929 83647.2 — — — 22.0 0.06 −3 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD929 83649.1 — — — 19.6 L −13 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD929 83650.3 — — — 21.8 0.07 −4 — — — LYD922 83821.3 — — — — — — 14.9 0.07 −2 LYD922 83823.6 1263.1 0.12 5 21.8 0.05 −4 — — — LYD915 84657.1 — — — 22.0 0.08 −3 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD915 84658.1 — — — 22.1 0.25 −2 — — — LYD913 84195.1 — — — 22.1 0.09 −3 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD913 84195.4 — — — 22.1 0.26 −2 — — — LYD909 84174.1 — — — 21.9 0.18 −4 — — — LYD909 84174.4 — — — 21.2 0.02 −6 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD909 84177.1 — — — 22.0 0.08 −3 — — — LYD909 84178.1 — — — 21.9 0.03 −4 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD899 83722.1 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD899 83723.8 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD895 83535.3 — — — 22.0 0.08 −3 — — — LYD895 83535.5 1288.8 0.08 7 — — — — — — LYD895 83537.3 — — — 22.2 0.14 −2 — — — LYD895 83537.4 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD893 83950.1 — — — 22.0 0.06 −3 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD893 83952.5 — — — 21.8 0.15 −4 — — — LYD893 83952.6 — — — 22.2 0.18 −2 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD848 84290.1 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD848 84290.3 — — — 22.2 0.18 −2 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD848 84292.1 — — — 22.1 0.09 −3 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD848 84292.5 1341.5 0.26 12 — — — 14.9 0.07 −2 LYD840 84081.2 — — — 22.1 0.09 −3 — — — LYD840 84085.2 1426.9 0.20 19 20.2 L −11 14.8 0.19 −3 LYD833 83511.1 — — — 21.6 0.03 −5 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD833 83513.5 — — — — — — 14.8 0.19 −3 LYD821 84053.3 — — — 22.0 0.06 −3 — — — LYD821 84054.2 — — — 22.1 0.10 −3 — — — LYD789 84131.3 1293.1 0.19 8 22.0 0.06 −3 — — — LYD789 84132.2 1331.2 L 11 — — — — — — LYD746 83898.2 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD733 83766.2 1290.6 0.05 7 — — — — — — LYD733 83768.1 — — — 22.1 0.11 −2 — — — LYD733 83768.4 — — — 21.9 0.14 −3 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD717 84353.2 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD717 84356.1 — — — 22.0 0.25 −3 — — — LYD717 84356.2 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD704 83781.1 — — — 22.2 0.21 −2 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD704 83785.1 — — — 22.1 0.11 −2 — — — LYD704 83785.2 — — — — — — 15.0 0.09 −1 LYD704 83785.5 — — — 21.8 0.05 −4 — — — CONT. — 1200.7 — — 22.7 — — 15.2 — — LGP54 77040.4 — — — — — — 16.4 0.01 −3 LGP53 76966.2 1166.4 0.01 16 — — — 16.1 0.08 −5 LGP53 76968.1 1206.8 0.04 20 — — — — — — LGP52 76962.1 1128.6 0.27 12 — — — — — — LGP52 76963.1 1180.6 0.09 17 — — — 16.0 0.05 −5 LGP52 76963.3 — — — 20.8 0.04 −5 15.6 L −8 LGP52 76965.2 1102.1 0.08 10 — — — 16.5 0.25 −3 CONT. — 1004.9 — — 21.9 — — 16.9 — — LYD919 83642.2 — — — 19.0 0.03 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD919 83644.3 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD900 83738.14 — — — 19.1 0.05 −3 — — — LYD900 83738.8 — — — 17.8 0.26 −9 — — — LYD898 83639.1 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD898 83640.1 — — — 19.1 0.22 −3 — — — LYD898 83641.5 1399.4 0.26 9 19.1 0.22 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD898 83641.8 — — — 18.8 0.03 −4 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD894 84360.1 — — — — — — 11.9 0.20 −2 LYD894 84361.1 — — — 18.8 0.03 −4 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD894 84362.1 — — — 18.4 0.14 −6 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD894 84362.2 — — — 19.2 0.15 −2 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD894 84362.3 — — — 18.8 0.24 −4 — — — LYD886 83634.3 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD886 83635.4 — — — 18.8 0.08 −4 — — — LYD886 83636.1 — — — 18.5 0.23 −6 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD883 83911.2 1416.4 0.05 10 — — — — — — LYD883 83911.4 — — — 19.1 0.22 −3 — — — LYD883 83912.2 1382.1 0.15 7 18.6 0.16 −5 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD883 83912.3 — — — 19.1 0.06 −3 — — — LYD882 84061.4 — — — 19.1 0.22 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD882 84064.4 — — — 19.0 0.03 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD882 84065.1 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD882 84065.3 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD882 84065.7 — — — 19.3 0.16 −2 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD871 83716.2 — — — 19.0 0.03 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD871 83716.4 — — — 18.9 0.02 −4 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD871 83718.4 — — — 18.9 0.02 −4 — — — LYD871 83718.6 — — — 19.0 0.05 −3 — — — LYD865 83729.1 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD865 83730.1 1643.0 0.26 27 — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD865 83731.1 — — — 18.6 0.04 −5 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD865 83733.5 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD865 83733.6 — — — 19.1 0.06 −3 — — — LYD839 83521.1 1376.2 0.20 7 18.8 0.03 −4 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD839 83521.3 — — — 19.2 0.15 −2 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD839 83522.1 1357.5 0.17 5 19.2 0.08 −2 — — — LYD811 83711.4 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD811 83713.3 — — — 19.3 0.18 −2 — — — LYD793 83499.7 1526.0 0.02 18 19.0 0.03 −3 — — — LYD793 83500.1 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD793 83500.4 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD786 84582.1 — — — 19.3 0.21 −2 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD786 84584.4 — — — 19.3 0.18 −2 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD786 84585.3 — — — 18.6 0.16 −5 — — — LYD786 84585.4 — — — 19.2 0.08 −2 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD777 83489.3 1378.8 0.19 7 — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD777 83493.3 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD772 84526.1 — — — — — — 11.9 0.17 −1 LYD772 84529.2 1559.5 0.13 21 — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD772 84529.3 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD748 84918.1 — — — — — — 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD748 84918.3 — — — 19.3 0.23 −1 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD748 84919.2 — — — 18.5 0.23 −6 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD748 84919.4 — — — 18.7 L −5 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD747 85011.1 — — — 19.1 0.20 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD747 85011.3 — — — 19.0 0.03 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD747 85011.5 — — — 19.1 0.05 −3 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD745 84261.4 — — — 18.9 0.02 −4 12.0 0.13 −1 LYD745 84262.1 1361.9 0.24 6 16.6 L −15 — — — LYD745 84263.1 — — — 17.9 0.25 −9 — — — LYD745 84264.2 — — — 18.9 0.02 −4 12.0 0.13 −1 CONT. — 1289.0 — — 19.6 — — 12.1 — — LGP9 75517.2 — — — 28.9 0.22 −3 22.6 0.26 −3 LGP10 75385.3 — — — — — — 22.5 0.23 −3 CONT. — — — — 29.6 — — 23.3 — — LGP45 77196.1 882.5 L 11 — — — — — — LGP19 76938.3 874.7 0.05 10 — — — — — — CONT. — 796.8 — — — — — — — — LGP47 76960.1 1091.2 0.05 18 — — — — — — CONT. — 927.0 — — — — — — — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 174 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Leaf Blade Area Plot Coverage [cm²] Leaf Number [cm²] Gene P- % P- % P- % Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LGP77 81452.2 0.949 0.03 15 9.54 0.25 4 56.2 0.06 18 LGP77 81456.3 0.887 0.15 7 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.826 — — 9.16 — — 47.8 — — LGP52 76963.1 — — — — — — 92.9 0.18 12 LGP52 76965.2 — — — — — — 91.7 0.19 10 CONT. — — — — — — — 83.1 — — LGP48 77203.2 — — — 11.5 0.06 7 — — — LGP47 76956.1 — — — 11.2 0.26 4 — — — CONT. — — — — 10.8 — — — — — LYD930 83834.3 — — — 10.4 0.17 3 — — — LYD881 84058.5 1.97 0.29 8 — — — 106.1 0.23 10 LYD881 84060.4 — — — 10.8 0.07 7 — — — LYD877 83630.1 — — — 10.8 0.30 6 — — — LYD877 83630.2 — — — 10.8 0.16 6 — — — LYD877 83630.3 2.19 L 21 10.6 0.04 5 119.8 L 24 LYD877 83630.4 — — — 11.2 0.05 11 112.5 0.13 16 LYD863 83808.1 — — — 10.7 0.03 6 — — — LYD863 83810.7 — — — 10.8 0.16 6 — — — LYD846 83531.3 — — — 10.5 0.15 4 — — — LYD846 83531.4 — — — — — — 104.1 0.29 8 LYD846 83533.4 — — — 11.1 L 10 — — — LYD831 83803.1 1.97 0.20 8 — — — 104.5 0.25 8 LYD831 83803.3 2.00 0.12 10 10.9 L 8 107.2 0.15 11 LYD831 83803.5 — — — — — — 104.7 0.26 8 LYD788 83798.4 — — — 10.9 L 8 119.0 0.12 23 LYD788 83800.4 — — — 10.4 0.24 3 — — — LYD788 83800.5 2.04 0.07 12 — — — 109.0 0.10 13 LYD783 84170.3 2.05 0.05 13 — — — 110.1 0.08 14 LYD779 83704.1 — — — 10.5 0.15 4 — — — LYD779 83704.2 1.94 0.27 6 10.7 0.03 6 108.4 0.10 12 LYD779 83708.2 — — — — — — 111.5 0.06 15 LYD776 83944.1 — — — 10.7 0.11 6 — — — LYD776 83947.1 — — — — — — 106.0 0.25 9 LYD776 83947.4 — — — 10.5 0.15 4 — — — LYD764 83479.2 — — — 10.6 0.07 5 — — — LYD764 83479.4 2.10 0.13 15 10.9 0.04 8 120.8 0.06 25 LYD764 83483.1 — — — 10.6 0.07 5 — — — LYD731 83454.2 — — — 10.8 0.01 7 — — — LYD731 83456.1 2.05 0.12 13 — — — 111.7 0.24 15 LYD715 84155.1 — — — 10.6 0.07 5 — — — LYD715 84158.1 1.99 0.15 9 — — — — — — LYD715 84158.3 1.99 0.17 9 10.5 0.10 4 111.7 0.05 15 LYD713 83786.4 2.09 0.30 15 11.1 L 9 114.1 0.17 18 LYD713 83788.3 2.06 0.08 13 10.9 0.11 8 120.0 L 24 LYD713 83789.2 — — — 10.6 0.04 5 — — — LYD713 83789.3 — — — 10.8 0.02 6 — — — LYD710 83893.2 — — — 10.4 0.24 3 — — — LYD710 83895.6 2.02 0.10 11 11.0 L 9 115.5 0.03 19 LYD710 83896.1 2.03 0.24 12 10.6 0.07 5 112.3 0.21 16 LYD708 83451.7 2.06 0.23 13 — — — 112.8 0.21 17 LYD698 83780.4 2.00 0.13 10 — — — 112.2 0.04 16 CONT. — 1.82 — — 10.1 — — 96.8 — — LGP77 81452.2 0.762 0.02 14 — — — — — — LGP77 81453.3 0.711 0.11 6 — — — 39.5 0.16 6 CONT. — 0.668 — — — — — 37.1 — — LGP73 81449.7 1.09 0.22 7 — — — — — — LGP73 81449.8 1.20 0.01 17 10.5 0.04 8 69.3 L 24 CONT. — 1.02 — — 9.72 — — 56.0 — — LYD930 83831.3 1.30 0.26 10 — — — — — — LYD930 83832.3 1.46 0.02 24 — — — 81.7 0.24 26 LYD930 83834.3 1.37 0.03 16 — — — 76.3 0.13 18 LYD881 84057.2 — — — 10.5 0.15 5 — — — LYD877 83630.4 — — — 11.2 0.01 12 — — — LYD877 83631.2 — — — 11.1 0.20 12 — — — LYD863 83810.7 1.33 0.15 13 10.9 0.10 10 76.2 0.05 17 LYD846 83531.3 — — — — — — 70.5 0.29 9 LYD831 83803.3 1.35 0.14 14 — — — 75.0 0.07 15 LYD788 83800.4 1.45 L 23 — — — 81.4 0.01 25 LYD783 84170.1 — — — 10.6 0.28 7 74.5 0.22 15 LYD783 84170.3 — — — — — — 71.6 0.24 10 LYD779 83704.2 — — — 10.9 0.02 9 74.9 0.07 15 LYD779 83708.2 1.29 0.17 10 — — — 72.5 0.18 12 LYD764 83479.4 — — — 10.7 0.06 7 72.3 0.15 11 LYD764 83483.1 1.34 0.06 14 11.0 0.02 10 78.6 0.03 21 LYD740 83462.1 1.26 0.29 7 — — — 70.6 0.26 9 LYD715 84155.5 — — — 11.2 0.01 12 85.6 0.10 32 LYD715 84158.1 — — — — — — 83.5 0.29 29 LYD715 84158.3 — — — — — — 72.1 0.16 11 LYD713 83786.4 — — — 10.6 0.07 7 — — — LYD713 83788.3 — — — — — — 72.3 0.15 11 LYD713 83789.3 — — — 10.4 0.18 5 71.5 0.25 10 CONT. — 1.18 — — 9.96 — — 64.9 — — LGP49 77652.6 — — — 11.3 0.17 4 113.4 0.17 13 CONT. — — — — 10.8 — — 100.2 — — LYD919 83642.2 1.49 0.03 19 11.1 0.02 11 91.4 0.09 33 LYD919 83644.3 — — — 10.8 0.25 8 74.8 0.22 9 LYD919 83645.1 — — — 10.6 0.02 6 78.3 0.07 14 LYD913 84195.2 — — — 10.6 0.03 6 75.9 0.27 11 LYD913 84198.4 1.40 0.10 12 10.4 0.15 4 77.1 0.08 12 LYD913 84198.7 — — — — — — 85.0 0.24 24 LYD909 84174.2 1.54 0.08 23 10.8 L 8 90.1 0.15 31 LYD909 84174.4 1.57 L 25 10.9 0.03 9 92.4 L 35 LYD909 84177.1 1.39 0.13 11 10.5 0.03 5 81.3 0.02 19 LYD909 84178.3 1.38 0.15 10 — — — 79.6 0.03 16 LYD900 83738.10 1.49 0.06 18 11.1 0.29 11 88.2 0.06 29 LYD900 83738.14 1.48 0.08 18 — — — 85.2 0.09 24 LYD900 83738.8 1.64 0.25 31 10.9 0.21 9 99.0 0.18 44 LYD898 83639.1 — — — 10.8 0.28 8 — — — LYD898 83640.1 1.53 0.22 22 — — — 90.6 0.22 32 LYD898 83641.6 1.38 0.15 10 10.6 0.17 6 81.6 0.02 19 LYD896 83659.5 — — — — — — 76.7 0.16 12 LYD896 83661.1 — — — 10.8 0.25 8 — — — LYD896 83661.2 1.39 0.15 11 — — — 80.0 0.10 17 LYD896 83661.4 1.37 0.22 9 10.9 L 9 80.8 0.02 18 LYD895 83535.4 1.42 0.12 13 10.8 L 8 84.1 0.10 23 LYD895 83537.3 — — — 10.4 0.15 4 — — — LYD895 83537.4 — — — 10.4 0.15 4 — — — LYD893 83951.1 1.48 0.04 18 10.8 L 8 88.7 L 29 LYD893 83952.5 1.47 0.03 17 10.6 0.11 6 86.3 0.02 26 LYD893 83952.6 — — — 10.8 L 8 85.5 0.25 25 LYD893 83952.7 — — — 10.8 L 8 84.0 0.14 23 LYD886 83635.4 1.45 0.06 15 10.4 0.06 4 84.2 0.03 23 LYD886 83636.1 — — — — — — 81.7 0.19 19 LYD882 84061.1 1.53 0.01 22 10.9 0.09 9 90.3 0.04 32 LYD882 84064.4 1.40 0.12 12 — — — 82.0 0.10 20 LYD882 84065.1 — — — 10.4 0.15 4 — — — LYD882 84065.7 1.42 0.26 13 11.0 0.07 10 83.0 0.08 21 LYD871 83715.4 1.35 0.24 8 10.6 0.28 6 77.3 0.07 13 LYD871 83716.2 1.37 0.21 9 — — — 77.7 0.07 13 LYD871 83718.6 1.36 0.21 9 10.6 0.17 6 78.3 0.07 14 LYD848 84290.3 1.53 0.07 22 11.1 0.24 11 92.8 L 35 LYD848 84290.4 — — — — — — 88.4 0.29 29 LYD848 84292.5 1.36 0.27 8 10.8 L 8 85.6 L 25 LYD840 84085.2 — — — 10.4 0.18 4 76.5 0.19 12 LYD840 84085.4 — — — — — — 75.7 0.13 10 LYD786 84582.2 — — — — — — 75.4 0.17 10 LYD786 84584.4 — — — — — — 76.5 0.15 12 LYD786 84585.4 1.41 0.10 12 10.4 0.18 4 80.3 0.04 17 LYD746 83898.2 1.46 0.04 16 10.9 L 9 84.8 L 24 LYD746 83902.2 1.54 0.22 23 11.1 0.02 11 90.9 0.14 33 LYD746 83902.4 1.41 0.15 12 10.5 0.07 5 83.0 0.01 21 LYD745 84261.1 — — — 10.9 L 9 81.1 0.16 18 LYD745 84261.4 1.53 0.01 22 10.6 0.03 6 88.4 L 29 LYD745 84262.1 1.69 L 35 11.2 L 12 104.6 L 53 LYD745 84264.2 1.41 0.19 13 10.5 0.07 5 82.9 0.01 21 LYD733 83766.2 — — — — — — 75.7 0.14 10 LYD733 83768.3 1.48 0.03 18 10.8 0.12 8 89.3 L 30 LYD717 84353.1 — — — — — — 78.0 0.09 14 LYD717 84354.2 — — — — — — 76.4 0.10 11 LYD717 84356.2 1.51 0.02 20 11.1 L 11 92.9 L 35 CONT. — 1.25 — — 10.0 — — 68.6 — — LGP6 75670.2 1.20 0.23 6 — — — — — — LGP32 75397.4 1.29 0.10 14 11.1 0.06 9 81.3 0.08 20 LGP12 78567.3 1.25 0.09 10 — — — — — — CONT. — 1.13 — — 10.1 — — 67.5 — — LGP74 81325.1 — — — 11.9 0.29 7 — — — LGP74 81328.3 1.59 0.06 15 — — — 94.1 0.06 18 CONT. — 1.38 — — 11.1 — — 79.7 — — LGP74 81325.1 1.29 0.18 6 — — — 77.2 0.20 8 LGP74 81328.3 1.37 0.17 13 11.0 0.24 6 84.8 0.15 19 CONT. — 1.22 — — 10.4 — — 71.3 — — LGP71 82503.1 1.16 0.08 29 9.83 0.02 8 68.2 0.06 38 CONT. — 0.902 — — 9.12 — — 49.5 — — LYD911 86502.3 — — — 10.7 0.15 3 — — — LYD911 86503.1 — — — 11.3 0.03 9 101.8 0.04 21 LYD907 84976.1 1.71 0.10 12 10.6 0.21 3 95.7 0.10 14 LYD907 84979.1 1.64 0.30 7 — — — — — — LYD907 84979.2 — — — 11.1 0.06 7 — — — LYD904 84497.2 — — — — — — 94.3 0.11 12 LYD904 84499.2 2.00 L 31 10.6 0.21 3 111.8 L 33 LYD902 84948.5 — — — — — — 105.2 0.28 25 LYD899 83722.1 — — — 10.8 0.14 4 — — — LYD899 83723.8 — — — 11.3 0.23 9 — — — LYD896 83661.4 — — — 11.1 L 8 — — — LYD867 85536.2 — — — 11.1 0.06 7 — — — LYD867 85536.5 — — — — — — 91.1 0.24 8 LYD844 85192.1 — — — — — — 93.9 0.16 12 LYD844 85192.3 1.84 0.29 20 — — — — — — LYD844 85192.4 1.65 0.23 8 — — — — — — LYD844 85192.7 1.79 0.06 17 — — — 99.6 0.03 18 LYD844 85192.8 — — — 10.8 0.06 5 — — — LYD825 85881.2 — — — 10.8 0.14 4 — — — LYD825 85883.1 1.82 0.02 19 — — — 100.3 0.02 19 LYD825 85884.2 1.83 0.02 20 — — — 99.1 0.03 18 LYD812 85560.1 1.65 0.27 8 — — — 91.6 0.25 9 LYD812 85560.2 2.05 L 34 — — — 107.5 L 28 LYD812 85564.1 — — — 10.6 0.28 3 94.5 0.30 12 LYD778 85053.2 — — — 11.4 L 10 — — — LYD778 85053.3 — — — 10.9 0.25 6 91.9 0.21 9 LYD778 85053.4 — — — — — — 103.2 0.14 23 LYD772 84526.1 1.87 0.28 22 — — — 102.0 0.29 21 LYD730 84258.1 — — — 11.1 0.06 7 — — — LYD711 85316.3 2.02 0.24 32 — — — 107.1 0.25 27 LYD711 85316.5 — — — 10.9 0.07 5 108.4 0.21 29 CONT. — 1.53 — — 10.3 — — 84.1 — — LGP1 76249.3 — — — 11.4 0.16 4 — — — CONT. — — — — 11.0 — — — — — LGP71 82503.1 — — — 9.58 0.15 4 49.2 0.13 10 CONT. — — — — 9.25 — — 44.5 — — LYD929 83647.2 — — — 11.1 0.23 3 — — — LYD929 83649.1 1.81 0.18 11 — — — — — — LYD929 83651.2 — — — 11.4 0.17 6 106.2 0.14 12 LYD922 83823.6 1.83 0.06 12 11.4 0.22 6 106.4 0.13 12 LYD915 84657.1 1.98 0.27 22 — — — 114.8 0.27 21 LYD913 84195.1 2.00 0.13 23 — — — 114.0 0.03 20 LYD909 84174.1 1.81 0.11 11 11.3 0.04 5 109.4 0.19 15 LYD909 84174.4 — — — 11.6 0.17 7 — — — LYD909 84178.1 — — — 11.2 0.10 4 — — — LYD893 83950.1 1.79 0.13 10 — — — 107.7 0.21 13 LYD893 83952.5 — — — 11.9 0.05 10 107.4 0.11 13 LYD893 83952.6 — — — 11.4 0.02 6 — — — LYD848 84289.1 1.92 0.02 18 12.1 0.07 12 121.3 0.06 28 LYD848 84292.1 — — — 11.2 0.10 4 — — — LYD848 84292.5 — — — 11.2 0.10 4 — — — LYD840 84081.2 — — — 11.4 0.02 6 107.6 0.30 13 LYD840 84085.2 1.89 0.06 16 12.1 L 13 114.1 0.03 20 LYD833 83511.4 — — — 11.6 0.05 7 — — — LYD833 83512.2 — — — 11.4 0.05 6 — — — LYD833 83513.5 1.92 0.02 18 11.5 0.02 7 124.4 L 31 LYD821 84054.2 1.74 0.23 7 — — — 103.0 0.26 9 LYD789 84132.3 — — — 11.3 0.04 5 102.7 0.28 8 LYD733 83768.1 — — — 11.2 0.10 4 — — — LYD717 84354.2 — — — 11.3 0.13 5 — — — LYD717 84356.2 — — — 11.2 0.06 4 — — — LYD704 83785.2 1.74 0.25 7 — — — — — — LYD704 83785.5 — — — 11.2 0.10 4 — — — CONT. — 1.63 — — 10.8 — — 94.9 — — LGP52 76963.1 1.77 0.21 13 — — — 104.0 0.28 12 CONT. — 1.57 — — — — — 92.8 — — LYD919 83642.2 1.57 0.06 10 11.6 0.26 9 95.9 L 17 LYD919 83644.3 — — — — — — 89.5 0.28 9 LYD919 83646.1 1.56 0.16 10 11.2 0.06 5 91.1 0.20 11 LYD900 83738.10 — — — 10.9 0.26 3 — — — LYD900 83738.11 — — — 11.3 0.08 6 — — — LYD900 83738.14 — — — 11.2 0.13 5 — — — LYD900 83738.8 — — — 11.1 0.08 5 — — — LYD898 83641.5 1.53 0.27 8 — — — 90.0 0.24 10 LYD898 83641.8 — — — — — — 93.2 0.14 14 LYD894 84361.1 1.53 0.21 8 — — — — — — LYD894 84362.1 — — — 11.1 0.23 4 — — — LYD894 84362.2 1.52 0.08 7 — — — 87.3 0.11 7 LYD886 83634.2 — — — — — — 87.0 0.17 6 LYD886 83634.3 — — — — — — 87.6 0.26 7 LYD886 83636.1 1.58 0.02 11 — — — 93.1 L 14 LYD883 83911.4 1.49 0.24 5 — — — — — — LYD883 83912.2 1.50 0.16 5 — — — — — — LYD883 83912.3 1.75 L 23 11.0 0.22 3 101.4 L 24 LYD882 84065.1 1.51 0.16 6 — — — 90.4 0.06 10 LYD871 83716.2 — — — 11.5 0.02 8 95.8 0.03 17 LYD871 83718.6 1.64 0.06 15 11.2 0.06 6 99.8 0.09 22 LYD865 83731.1 1.70 L 20 — — — 103.1 0.10 26 LYD865 83733.5 1.52 0.03 7 11.1 0.11 5 88.0 0.09 8 LYD839 83521.1 — — — 11.3 0.03 6 — — — LYD839 83522.1 — — — — — — 85.2 0.30 4 LYD811 83711.4 1.52 0.27 7 11.1 0.25 5 88.2 0.29 8 LYD811 83713.3 1.64 0.06 16 11.1 0.13 4 95.9 0.11 17 LYD793 83499.2 1.61 0.12 13 — — — 91.6 0.02 12 LYD793 83499.7 — — — — — — 88.8 0.07 8 LYD777 83489.3 1.59 L 12 11.7 L 10 96.5 L 18 LYD777 83492.3 — — — 11.2 0.13 5 — — — LYD777 83493.3 — — — — — — 85.6 0.25 5 LYD772 84526.1 1.48 0.20 4 — — — 86.7 0.14 6 LYD772 84529.2 1.57 0.21 10 11.3 0.03 6 92.0 0.21 12 LYD772 84529.3 — — — 11.0 0.22 3 — — — LYD748 84919.1 — — — 11.2 0.13 5 — — — LYD748 84919.4 1.49 0.29 5 — — — — — — LYD747 85011.3 — — — — — — 85.6 0.25 5 LYD747 85012.1 — — — 11.0 0.22 3 — — — LYD745 84261.1 1.56 0.09 10 11.2 0.06 6 89.5 0.12 9 LYD745 84262.1 1.62 L 14 — — — 93.4 0.21 14 LYD745 84263.1 1.58 L 12 — — — 93.5 0.05 14 CONT. — 1.42 — — 10.6 — — 81.9 — — LGP9 75515.1 — — — 10.2 0.09 5 — — — LGP44 75765.3 — — — 10.5 0.03 8 — — — LGP10 75385.3 — — — 10.5 0.07 8 — — — CONT. — — — — 9.67 — — — — — LGP46 77258.3 — — — 9.75 0.11 3 — — — CONT. — — — — 9.44 — — — — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 175 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter RGR Of Leaf RGR Of Plot RGR Of Rosette Number Coverage Diameter Gene P- % P- % P- % Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LGP77 81452.2 — — — 7.16 0.07 17 — — — CONT. — — — — 6.10 — — — — — LGP52 76963.1 — — — 12.6 0.23 10 — — — LGP52 76965.2 — — — 12.4 0.30 8 — — — CONT. — — — — 11.4 — — — — — LGP48 77202.4 0.749 0.11 15 — — — 0.511 0.14 6 LGP48 77203.2 0.779 L 20 — — — — — — LGP47 76956.1 0.760 0.02 17 — — — — — — LGP47 76960.2 0.734 0.15 13 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.651 — — — — — 0.484 — — LYD877 83630.1 — — — — — — 0.571 0.23 14 LYD877 83630.3 — — — 15.3 0.12 25 0.615 0.05 23 LYD877 83630.4 0.707 0.09 20 14.4 0.26 17 0.569 0.25 14 LYD863 83808.1 0.689 0.18 16 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.6 0.683 0.20 16 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.7 — — — — — — 0.577 0.20 15 LYD846 83531.3 0.673 0.22 14 — — — — — — LYD846 83533.4 0.735 0.06 24 — — — — — — LYD831 83803.3 0.709 0.10 20 — — — — — — LYD831 83803.6 — — — — — — 0.565 0.29 13 LYD788 83798.4 — — — 15.0 0.16 22 0.583 0.16 17 LYD788 83800.5 — — — — — — 0.570 0.23 14 LYD779 83708.2 — — — — — — 0.577 0.19 15 LYD776 83944.1 0.775 0.01 31 — — — — — — LYD776 83947.1 — — — — — — 0.564 0.27 13 LYD776 83947.2 0.668 0.26 13 — — — — — — LYD764 83479.2 0.669 0.27 13 — — — — — — LYD764 83479.4 0.676 0.25 14 15.3 0.13 24 0.590 0.12 18 LYD731 83454.2 0.668 0.29 13 — — — — — — LYD731 83456.1 — — — — — — 0.570 0.25 14 LYD731 83458.1 — — — — — — 0.562 0.28 12 LYD713 83786.4 0.683 0.22 16 14.5 0.25 18 — — — LYD713 83788.1 0.699 0.20 18 — — — — — — LYD713 83788.3 — — — 15.5 0.09 26 0.576 0.19 15 LYD713 83789.3 0.724 0.06 22 — — — — — — LYD710 83893.2 0.683 0.17 16 — — — — — — LYD710 83895.6 — — — 14.5 0.25 18 — — — LYD710 83896.1 — — — 14.4 0.28 17 — — — LYD708 83451.7 — — — 14.4 0.27 17 0.581 0.18 16 LYD700 84151.1 0.691 0.20 17 — — — — — — LYD700 84151.4 0.694 0.14 17 — — — — — — LYD698 83780.3 0.679 0.26 15 — — — — — — LYD698 83780.4 — — — 14.4 0.27 17 0.563 0.27 13 CONT. — 0.591 — — 12.3 — — 0.501 — — LGP77 81452.2 — — — — — — 0.435 0.14 10 CONT. — — — — — — — 0.395 — — LGP73 81449.3 — — — — — — 0.399 0.07 8 LGP73 81449.7 — — — — — — 0.402 L 9 LGP73 81449.8 0.624 0.11 24 8.37 L 24 0.400 0.02 9 CONT. — 0.505 — — 6.77 — — 0.368 — — LYD930 83832.3 — — — 10.7 0.12 27 0.480 0.14 16 LYD930 83834.3 — — — 10.0 0.25 19 — — — LYD877 83631.2 0.820 0.19 24 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.7 — — — 9.88 0.30 17 — — — LYD788 83800.4 — — — 10.7 0.10 27 0.486 0.09 17 LYD764 83483.1 — — — 10.3 0.19 22 — — — LYD715 84155.5 0.791 0.28 20 11.2 0.06 32 0.487 0.10 18 LYD715 84158.1 — — — 10.9 0.10 29 0.463 0.29 12 LYD713 83786.4 0.778 0.30 18 — — — — — — LYD713 83789.2 — — — 10.5 0.16 24 0.477 0.17 15 CONT. — 0.659 — — 8.44 — — 0.414 — — LGP49 77652.6 — — — 13.9 0.18 13 — — — CONT. — — — — 12.3 — — — — — LYD919 83642.2 0.810 0.13 25 12.1 0.04 35 0.539 0.03 24 LYD913 84198.7 — — — 11.1 0.16 23 — — — LYD909 84174.2 — — — 11.8 0.06 31 0.492 0.20 14 LYD909 84174.4 — — — 12.2 0.03 36 0.490 0.20 13 LYD909 84177.1 — — — 10.7 0.24 19 0.480 0.30 11 LYD909 84178.3 — — — 10.5 0.30 17 — — — LYD900 83738.10 0.786 0.20 21 11.6 0.08 29 0.489 0.23 13 LYD900 83738.14 — — — 11.2 0.13 25 0.503 0.13 16 LYD900 83738.8 — — — 12.9 0.02 44 0.536 0.04 24 LYD898 83639.1 — — — 10.5 0.28 17 — — — LYD898 83640.1 — — — 11.9 0.06 32 0.498 0.18 15 LYD898 83641.6 — — — 10.7 0.23 19 — — — LYD896 83659.2 0.775 0.25 19 — — — — — — LYD896 83659.5 — — — — — — 0.484 0.26 12 LYD896 83661.2 — — — 10.5 0.29 17 — — — LYD896 83661.4 0.777 0.23 20 10.7 0.24 19 0.494 0.19 14 LYD895 83535.4 — — — 11.0 0.17 22 — — — LYD893 83951.1 — — — 11.7 0.07 30 — — — LYD893 83952.5 — — — 11.4 0.10 27 0.520 0.06 20 LYD893 83952.6 — — — 11.3 0.14 25 — — — LYD893 83952.7 — — — 11.0 0.17 22 0.496 0.17 14 LYD886 83634.2 — — — 10.6 0.28 18 0.490 0.24 13 LYD886 83635.4 — — — 11.1 0.16 23 0.504 0.13 16 LYD886 83636.1 — — — 10.8 0.22 20 — — — LYD882 84061.1 — — — 11.9 0.05 32 0.507 0.11 17 LYD882 84064.4 — — — 10.7 0.24 19 — — — LYD882 84065.7 0.785 0.19 21 10.9 0.20 21 — — — LYD871 83716.2 — — — — — — 0.490 0.22 13 LYD848 84290.3 — — — 12.2 0.03 35 0.488 0.23 13 LYD848 84290.4 0.946 0.01 45 11.6 0.09 29 — — — LYD848 84292.5 — — — 11.2 0.13 25 0.491 0.21 13 LYD786 84582.1 — — — 11.0 0.18 23 0.484 0.28 12 LYD786 84585.4 — — — 10.5 0.29 17 — — — LYD746 83898.2 0.760 0.27 17 11.1 0.14 24 — — — LYD746 83902.2 0.759 0.28 17 12.0 0.06 33 0.493 0.21 14 LYD746 83902.4 — — — 10.9 0.18 21 0.487 0.23 12 LYD745 84261.1 0.780 0.23 20 10.6 0.27 17 — — — LYD745 84261.4 — — — 11.6 0.08 29 0.509 0.09 17 LYD745 84262.1 0.771 0.25 19 13.8 L 54 0.541 0.02 25 LYD745 84264.2 — — — 10.8 0.20 21 0.491 0.21 13 LYD733 83768.3 — — — 11.8 0.06 31 0.496 0.17 15 LYD717 84353.1 0.769 0.28 18 — — — — — — LYD717 84356.2 — — — 12.2 0.03 36 0.497 0.15 15 CONT. — 0.650 — — 9.00 — — 0.433 — — LGP46 77256.1 0.906 0.04 30 — — — — — — LGP46 77258.3 0.781 0.08 12 — — — — — — LGP46 77259.6 0.805 0.17 15 — — — — — — LGP46 77260.2 0.750 0.29 7 — — — — — — LGP45 77196.1 — — — — — — 0.544 0.26 4 LGP45 77196.5 0.789 0.20 13 — — — — — — LGP19 76938.3 0.805 0.21 15 — — — — — — LGP19 76939.2 0.773 0.10 11 — — — — — — LGP19 76940.1 0.820 0.17 18 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.698 — — — — — 0.520 — — LGP6 75670.2 — — — — — — 0.466 0.21 5 LGP32 75397.4 — — — 10.5 0.08 22 0.517 0.03 17 LGP12 78567.3 — — — — — — 0.488 0.08 10 CONT. — — — — 8.60 — — 0.443 — — LGP74 81325.1 0.745 0.28 10 — — — — — — LGP74 81328.3 — — — 11.3 0.05 19 0.451 0.09 9 CONT. — 0.680 — — 9.43 — — 0.413 — — LGP43 76953.2 0.680 0.17 22 — — — — — — LGP43 76953.5 0.666 0.14 20 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.557 — — — — — — — — LGP74 81325.1 — — — 9.83 0.18 9 0.481 0.20 5 LGP74 81328.3 — — — 10.8 0.16 20 0.505 0.12 10 CONT. — — — — 9.04 — — 0.460 — — LGP71 82503.1 0.613 0.13 8 8.80 0.08 38 0.477 0.22 19 CONT. — 0.568 — — 6.37 — — 0.400 — — LYD911 86503.1 — — — 13.0 0.22 21 — — — LYD904 84498.5 — — — 13.2 0.22 24 — — — LYD904 84499.2 — — — 14.5 0.05 35 0.576 0.06 20 LYD902 84948.5 — — — 13.3 0.16 25 0.551 0.18 14 LYD899 83723.8 0.786 0.26 16 — — — — — — LYD867 85535.2 — — — 13.6 0.17 27 0.547 0.23 13 LYD867 85536.5 — — — — — — 0.538 0.24 12 LYD844 85192.3 — — — 13.2 0.20 23 0.550 0.18 14 LYD844 85192.7 — — — 12.7 0.28 19 — — — LYD844 85192.8 — — — 13.5 0.17 26 — — — LYD825 85882.4 — — — — — — 0.554 0.19 15 LYD825 85883.1 — — — 13.0 0.22 21 0.544 0.21 13 LYD825 85884.2 — — — 12.7 0.29 18 — — — LYD812 85560.2 — — — 13.8 0.10 29 0.575 0.07 19 LYD812 85564.1 — — — — — — 0.539 0.27 12 LYD778 85053.1 — — — — — — 0.546 0.26 13 LYD778 85053.2 — — — 13.7 0.13 28 0.608 0.02 26 LYD778 85053.4 — — — 13.2 0.17 24 0.533 0.28 11 LYD772 84526.1 — — — 13.1 0.20 22 0.555 0.17 15 LYD772 84529.2 — — — — — — 0.536 0.26 11 LYD730 84258.1 — — — — — — 0.577 0.07 20 LYD711 85315.3 — — — 14.1 0.10 32 0.575 0.08 19 LYD711 85316.3 — — — 13.8 0.11 29 0.573 0.09 19 LYD711 85316.5 — — — 13.8 0.11 29 0.588 0.04 22 CONT. — 0.677 — — 10.7 — — 0.482 — — LGP1 76250.4 0.735 0.19 10 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.669 — — — — — — — — LGP71 82500.4 0.688 0.13 27 — — — — — — LGP71 82502.4 0.690 0.11 27 — — — — — — LGP71 82503.1 0.658 0.01 21 7.79 0.27 7 — — — LGP71 82503.2 0.682 0.13 26 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.542 — — 7.27 — — — — — LGP1 76249.3 0.689 0.30 6 — — — — — — LGP1 76250.3 0.725 0.18 12 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.649 — — — — — — — — LGP34 75739.3 — — — 11.3 0.05 12 — — — CONT. — — — — 10.1 — — — — — LYD922 83823.5 0.804 0.25 13 — — — — — — LYD915 84657.1 — — — 14.9 0.21 21 0.656 0.14 18 LYD913 84195.1 — — — 14.8 0.23 20 0.630 0.25 13 LYD899 83721.2 0.816 0.21 14 — — — — — — LYD893 83951.1 0.825 0.18 15 — — — — — — LYD893 83952.6 0.803 0.29 12 — — — — — — LYD848 84289.1 0.820 0.20 15 15.8 0.10 29 — — — LYD840 84085.2 0.812 0.24 14 14.8 0.23 20 — — — LYD833 83511.4 0.803 0.26 12 — — — — — — LYD833 83512.2 0.805 0.28 13 — — — — — — LYD833 83513.5 — — — 16.1 0.09 31 — — — LYD789 84132.2 0.810 0.24 13 — — — — — — LYD746 83901.5 0.821 0.18 15 — — — — — — LYD717 84356.2 0.807 0.24 13 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.715 — — 12.3 — — 0.558 — — LYD919 83642.2 0.824 0.07 20 12.5 0.23 18 0.598 0.04 18 LYD919 83644.3 — — — — — — 0.573 0.14 13 LYD919 83646.1 — — — — — — 0.567 0.19 12 LYD900 83738.10 0.773 0.25 12 — — — — — — LYD900 83738.11 0.806 0.12 17 — — — — — — LYD898 83641.6 0.773 0.23 12 — — — — — — LYD894 84361.1 0.771 0.27 12 — — — — — — LYD886 83634.2 0.772 0.24 12 — — — — — — LYD886 83636.1 0.870 0.02 26 — — — 0.556 0.25 10 LYD883 83912.3 — — — 13.3 0.10 25 0.590 0.07 17 LYD882 84065.1 0.815 0.10 18 — — — — — — LYD871 83716.2 — — — 12.5 0.23 17 — — — LYD871 83716.4 0.766 0.27 11 — — — — — — LYD871 83718.6 — — — 12.9 0.14 22 0.555 0.25 9 LYD865 83731.1 — — — 13.4 0.09 26 0.572 0.14 13 LYD839 83521.1 0.769 0.29 12 — — — — — — LYD811 83713.3 0.772 0.24 12 12.6 0.21 18 0.587 0.07 16 LYD793 83499.7 — — — — — — 0.571 0.14 13 LYD777 83489.3 0.835 0.05 21 12.6 0.21 18 — — — LYD777 83492.3 0.778 0.20 13 — — — — — — LYD772 84529.2 0.774 0.22 12 — — — 0.557 0.24 10 LYD772 84529.3 — — — 12.3 0.29 16 — — — LYD748 84919.1 0.792 0.15 15 — — — — — — LYD747 85011.3 0.773 0.25 12 — — — — — — LYD745 84262.1 — — — — — — 0.555 0.29 10 LYD745 84263.1 — — — — — — 0.565 0.19 12 LYD745 84264.2 0.771 0.24 12 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.688 — — 10.6 — — 0.507 — — LGP9 75515.1 0.684 0.02 17 — — — — — — LGP44 75763.3 0.640 0.26 9 — — — — — — LGP44 75765.3 0.700 0.02 20 — — — — — — LGP10 75385.3 0.734 0.03 25 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.585 — — — — — — — — LGP46 77258.3 0.644 0.07 12 — — — — — — LGP46 77259.3 0.645 0.14 12 — — — — — — LGP46 77259.6 0.606 0.27 5 — — — — — — LGP45 77196.6 0.660 0.15 15 — — — — — — LGP45 77197.4 0.637 0.25 11 — — — — — — LGP19 76940.2 0.603 0.07 5 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.576 — — — — — — — — LGP48 77204.6 0.786 0.29 6 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.739 — — — — — — — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value L—p < 0.01. RGR = relative growth rate.

TABLE 176 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Rosette Diameter Harvest Index Rosette Area [cm²] [cm] Gene P- % P- % P- % Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LGP77 81452.2 — — — 7.03 0.06 18 4.78 0.02 8 LGP77 81453.3 0.254 0.28 9 — — — — — — LGP77 81456.3 — — — — — — 4.59 0.17 3 CONT. — 0.234 — — 5.97 — — 4.44 — — LGP52 76963.1 — — — 11.6 0.23 9 5.72 0.13 6 LGP52 76965.2 — — — 11.5 0.24 8 5.65 0.27 5 CONT. — — — — 10.6 — — 5.38 — — LGP58 76972.1 0.340 0.14 14 — — — — — — LGP47 76957.1 0.334 0.17 12 — — — — — — LGP47 76960.3 0.342 0.08 15 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.298 — — — — — — — — LYD930 83833.4 0.396 L 30 — — — — — — LYD930 83834.3 — — — — — — 5.97 0.24 4 LYD881 84058.5 — — — 13.3 0.23 10 6.15 0.13 8 LYD877 83630.3 — — — 15.0 L 24 6.54 L 14 LYD877 83630.4 — — — 14.1 0.13 16 6.32 0.07 11 LYD863 83810.7 — — — — — — 6.22 0.28 9 LYD846 83531.4 — — — 13.0 0.29 8 6.06 0.13 6 LYD846 83533.1 0.348 0.19 14 — — — — — — LYD831 83803.1 — — — 13.1 0.25 8 6.14 0.06 7 LYD831 83803.3 — — — 13.4 0.15 11 6.14 0.06 7 LYD831 83803.5 — — — 13.1 0.26 8 6.07 0.10 6 LYD788 83798.4 — — — 14.9 0.12 23 6.49 0.03 13 LYD788 83800.4 0.337 0.21 10 — — — — — — LYD788 83800.5 — — — 13.6 0.10 13 6.19 0.08 8 LYD783 84170.1 0.368 0.02 21 — — — — — — LYD783 84170.3 0.371 0.13 22 13.8 0.08 14 6.12 0.10 7 LYD779 83704.2 — — — 13.6 0.10 12 6.11 0.08 7 LYD779 83708.2 — — — 13.9 0.06 15 6.29 0.02 10 LYD779 83708.4 — — — — — — 6.24 0.19 9 LYD776 83944.1 0.361 0.16 18 — — — — — — LYD776 83947.1 — — — 13.2 0.25 9 6.09 0.18 7 LYD776 83947.6 0.329 0.29 8 — — — — — — LYD764 83479.4 — — — 15.1 0.06 25 6.67 L 17 LYD764 83480.1 — — — — — — 6.29 0.22 10 LYD731 83456.1 — — — 14.0 0.24 15 6.25 0.17 9 LYD731 83458.1 — — — — — — 6.06 0.19 6 LYD715 84155.5 — — — — — — 6.00 0.21 5 LYD715 84158.1 — — — — — — 6.17 0.20 8 LYD715 84158.3 — — — 14.0 0.05 15 6.21 0.03 9 LYD713 83786.4 0.351 0.19 15 14.3 0.17 18 — — — LYD713 83788.3 — — — 15.0 L 24 6.41 L 12 LYD710 83895.3 — — — — — — 6.15 0.29 8 LYD710 83895.6 — — — 14.4 0.03 19 6.35 0.04 11 LYD710 83896.1 — — — 14.0 0.21 16 6.16 0.20 8 LYD708 83451.6 — — — — — — 6.09 0.12 7 LYD708 83451.7 — — — 14.1 0.21 17 6.36 0.14 11 LYD700 84151.1 — — — — — — 6.11 0.12 7 LYD700 84151.4 0.378 0.01 24 — — — — — — LYD698 83780.4 — — — 14.0 0.04 16 6.20 0.04 8 CONT. — 0.305 — — 12.1 — — 5.72 — — LGP77 81452.2 — — — 5.22 0.20 12 4.32 0.24 8 LGP77 81453.3 — — — 4.94 0.16 6 4.13 0.30 3 CONT. — — — — 4.64 — — 4.00 — — LGP73 81449.7 — — — — — — 4.66 0.15 3 LGP73 81449.8 — — — 8.66 L 24 5.01 L 11 CONT. — — — — 7.00 — — 4.51 — — LYD930 83832.3 — — — 10.2 0.24 26 5.25 0.20 12 LYD930 83834.3 — — — 9.54 0.13 18 5.01 0.19 7 LYD881 84058.2 — — — — — — 4.95 0.13 6 LYD877 83631.2 0.326 0.13 18 — — — — — — LYD863 83810.7 — — — 9.53 0.05 17 4.99 0.26 7 LYD846 83531.3 — — — 8.81 0.29 9 — — — LYD831 83803.3 — — — 9.37 0.07 15 5.09 0.04 9 LYD831 83803.5 0.333 0.02 21 — — — — — — LYD831 83803.6 0.319 0.10 16 — — — — — — LYD788 83800.4 0.316 0.11 15 10.2 0.01 25 5.28 L 13 LYD788 83800.5 0.342 L 24 — — — — — — LYD783 84170.1 — — — 9.32 0.22 15 5.04 0.11 8 LYD783 84170.3 — — — 8.95 0.24 10 — — — LYD783 84172.2 0.317 0.07 15 — — — — — — LYD779 83704.2 — — — 9.36 0.07 15 4.96 0.13 6 LYD779 83708.2 — — — 9.07 0.18 12 — — — LYD776 83947.4 0.304 0.14 10 — — — — — — LYD764 83479.4 — — — 9.03 0.15 11 4.97 0.20 6 LYD764 83483.1 — — — 9.82 0.03 21 5.10 0.03 9 LYD740 83462.1 — — — 8.82 0.26 9 4.93 0.16 5 LYD731 83456.1 0.363 0.04 31 — — — — — — LYD715 84155.5 — — — 10.7 0.10 32 5.43 0.12 16 LYD715 84158.1 — — — 10.4 0.29 29 — — — LYD715 84158.3 — — — 9.02 0.16 11 4.93 0.16 5 LYD713 83788.3 — — — 9.04 0.15 11 — — — LYD713 83789.3 0.359 0.25 30 8.94 0.25 10 — — — LYD708 83451.5 0.329 0.24 19 — — — — — — LYD698 83776.2 0.313 0.24 13 — — — — — — LYD698 83780.3 0.373 0.13 35 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.276 — — 8.12 — — 4.68 — — LGP49 77652.6 — — 14.2 0.22 11 — — — — CONT. — — — — 12.8 — — — — — LYD919 83642.2 — — — 11.4 0.09 33 5.69 0.02 18 LYD919 83644.3 — — — 9.36 0.22 9 — — — LYD919 83645.1 0.334 0.28 9 9.79 0.07 14 5.08 0.17 5 LYD913 84195.2 — — — 9.48 0.27 11 — — — LYD913 84198.4 — — — 9.64 0.08 12 — — — LYD913 84198.7 0.359 0.04 17 10.6 0.24 24 — — — LYD909 84174.2 — — — 11.3 0.15 31 5.43 0.05 12 LYD909 84174.4 — — — 11.6 L 35 5.45 L 13 LYD909 84177.1 — — — 10.2 0.02 19 5.32 0.02 10 LYD909 84178.3 — — — 9.95 0.03 16 5.14 0.22 6 LYD900 83738.10 — — — 11.0 0.06 29 5.46 0.02 13 LYD900 83738.14 — — — 10.7 0.09 24 5.41 0.07 12 LYD900 83738.8 — — — 12.4 0.18 44 5.95 0.14 23 LYD898 83640.1 — — — 11.3 0.22 32 5.48 0.20 13 LYD898 83641.5 — — — — — — 5.06 0.27 4 LYD898 83641.6 — — — 10.2 0.02 19 5.17 0.08 7 LYD898 83641.8 — — — — — — 5.10 0.24 5 LYD896 83659.5 — — — 9.59 0.16 12 5.20 0.06 8 LYD896 83661.2 — — — 10.00 0.10 17 5.13 0.29 6 LYD896 83661.4 — — — 10.1 0.02 18 5.32 0.03 10 LYD895 83535.4 — — — 10.5 0.10 23 5.19 0.16 7 LYD893 83951.1 0.332 0.26 8 11.1 L 29 5.39 0.01 11 LYD893 83952.5 — — — 10.8 0.02 26 5.52 L 14 LYD893 83952.6 — — — 10.7 0.25 25 5.24 0.23 8 LYD893 83952.7 — — — 10.5 0.14 23 5.42 0.05 12 LYD886 83634.2 — — — — — — 5.26 0.19 9 LYD886 83635.4 0.343 0.21 12 10.5 0.03 23 5.43 0.12 12 LYD886 83636.1 — — — 10.2 0.19 19 — — — LYD882 84061.1 — — — 11.3 0.04 32 5.60 L 16 LYD882 84064.4 — — — 10.3 0.10 20 5.20 0.06 7 LYD882 84065.7 — — — 10.4 0.08 21 — — — LYD871 83715.4 — — — 9.66 0.07 13 5.22 0.06 8 LYD871 83716.2 — — — 9.71 0.07 13 5.30 0.10 9 LYD871 83716.4 — — — — — — 5.17 0.24 7 LYD871 83718.6 — — — 11.6 L 35 5.54 L 14 LYD848 84290.4 — — — 11.1 0.29 29 5.33 0.26 10 LYD848 84292.5 — — — 10.7 L 25 5.40 0.01 12 LYD840 84085.2 — — — 9.57 0.19 12 5.15 0.12 7 LYD840 84085.4 — — — 9.46 0.13 10 5.10 0.18 5 LYD786 84582.2 — — — 9.42 0.17 10 — — — LYD786 84584.4 — — — 9.57 0.15 12 5.11 0.29 6 LYD786 84585.3 — — — — — — 5.13 0.11 6 LYD786 84585.4 — — — 10.0 0.04 17 5.28 0.04 9 LYD746 83898.2 — — — 10.6 L 24 5.30 0.03 10 LYD746 83902.2 — — — 11.4 0.14 33 5.53 0.28 14 LYD746 83902.4 — — — 10.4 0.01 21 5.28 0.04 9 LYD745 84261.1 — — — 10.1 0.16 18 — — — LYD745 84261.4 — — — 11.0 L 29 5.51 L 14 LYD745 84262.1 — — — 13.1 L 53 5.88 L 21 LYD745 84264.2 0.349 0.08 14 10.4 0.01 21 5.39 0.22 11 LYD733 83766.2 — — — 9.46 0.14 10 5.06 0.20 5 LYD733 83766.5 — — — — — — 5.10 0.14 5 LYD733 83768.3 0.351 0.07 14 11.2 L 30 5.46 L 13 LYD717 84353.1 — — — 9.75 0.09 14 5.14 0.11 6 LYD717 84354.2 — — — 9.55 0.10 11 5.09 0.15 5 LYD717 84356.2 — — — 11.6 L 35 5.52 L 14 CONT. — 0.307 — — 8.57 — — 4.84 — — LGP46 77260.2 0.414 0.03 18 — — — — — — LGP19 76939.2 0.376 0.22 7 — — — — — — LGP19 76940.1 0.377 0.20 7 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.351 — — — — — — — — LGP32 75397.4 0.225 0.03 25 10.2 0.08 20 5.62 0.05 11 LGP12 78567.3 — — — — — — 5.37 0.23 6 CONT. — 0.180 — — 8.44 — — 5.06 — — LGP74 81328.3 — — 11.8 0.06 18 5.60 0.15 7 CONT. — — — — 9.97 — — 5.24 — — LGP43 76951.2 0.275 0.28 9 — — — — — — LGP43 76953.2 0.283 0.12 12 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.253 — — — — — — — — LGP74 81325.1 — — — 9.66 0.20 8 5.53 0.12 4 LGP74 81326.4 0.352 0.07 26 — — — — — — LGP74 81328.3 — — — 10.6 0.15 19 5.81 0.12 9 CONT. — 0.281 — — 8.92 — — 5.34 — — LGP71 82503.1 — — — 8.52 0.06 38 5.29 0.12 18 CONT. — — — — 6.19 — — 4.50 — — LYD911 86503.1 — — — 12.7 0.04 21 5.94 0.16 7 LYD907 84976.1 — — — 12.0 0.10 14 6.02 0.08 8 LYD904 84497.2 — — — 11.8 0.11 12 5.94 0.18 7 LYD904 84499.2 — — — 14.0 L 33 6.37 L 15 LYD902 84948.5 — — — 13.2 0.28 25 6.36 0.21 14 LYD899 83723.8 — — — — — — 6.03 0.18 8 LYD867 85536.5 — — — 11.4 0.24 8 5.96 0.05 7 LYD844 85192.1 — — — 11.7 0.16 12 6.00 0.04 8 LYD844 85192.3 — — — — — — 6.08 0.26 9 LYD844 85192.7 — — — 12.4 0.03 18 5.99 0.04 8 LYD825 85883.1 — — — 12.5 0.02 19 6.00 0.04 8 LYD825 85884.2 — — — 12.4 0.03 18 5.95 0.08 7 LYD812 85560.1 — — — 11.4 0.25 9 — — — LYD812 85560.2 — — — 13.4 L 28 6.27 0.01 13 LYD812 85564.1 — — — 11.8 0.30 12 — — — LYD778 85053.2 — — — — — — 6.58 0.18 18 LYD778 85053.3 — — — 11.5 0.21 9 5.93 0.07 7 LYD778 85053.4 — — — 12.9 0.14 23 5.95 0.06 7 LYD772 84526.1 — — — 12.7 0.29 21 — — — LYD772 84529.2 — — — — — — 6.04 0.03 9 LYD718 85457.1 — — — — — — 6.07 0.08 9 LYD711 85315.3 — — — — — — 6.31 0.30 14 LYD711 85316.3 — — — 13.4 0.25 27 6.29 0.25 13 LYD711 85316.5 — — — 13.6 0.21 29 6.49 0.16 17 CONT. — — — — 10.5 — — 5.56 — — LGP71 82503.1 — — — 6.15 0.13 10 4.52 0.17 6 CONT. — — — — 5.57 — — 4.26 — — LGP1 76248.1 0.371 0.27 9 — — — — — — LGP1 76249.3 0.367 0.22 7 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.341 — — — — — — — — LYD929 83647.2 0.353 0.15 10 — — — — — — LYD929 83651.2 — — — 13.3 0.12 10 — — — LYD922 83823.6 — — — 13.3 0.11 11 — — — LYD915 84657.1 — — — 14.3 0.30 19 6.92 0.11 14 LYD915 84658.1 0.381 0.02 19 — — — — — — LYD915 84659.1 0.367 0.30 14 — — — — — — LYD913 84195.1 — — — 14.3 0.03 19 6.76 0.10 12 LYD913 84198.1 0.344 0.30 7 — — — — — — LYD913 84198.4 0.347 0.26 8 — — — — — — LYD909 84174.1 — — — 13.7 0.22 14 — — — LYD909 84177.1 0.359 0.10 12 — — — — — — LYD899 83722.1 0.366 0.06 14 — — — — — — LYD895 83535.3 0.367 0.06 14 — — — — — — LYD895 83537.3 0.378 0.04 18 — — — — — — LYD895 83537.4 0.363 0.28 13 — — — — — — LYD893 83950.1 — — — 13.5 0.24 12 — — — LYD893 83952.5 — — — 13.4 0.09 12 — — — LYD848 84289.1 — — — 15.2 0.07 26 6.66 0.10 10 LYD840 84085.2 — — — 14.3 0.02 19 6.53 0.22 8 LYD833 83511.1 0.365 0.10 14 — — — — — — LYD833 83513.5 — — — 15.6 L 30 6.60 0.03 9 LYD821 84054.2 — — — 12.9 0.25 7 — — — LYD821 84054.5 0.355 0.14 11 — — — — — — LYD789 84132.3 — — — 12.8 0.28 7 — — — LYD733 83768.1 0.376 0.03 17 — — — — — — LYD717 84356.2 0.400 0.02 25 — — — — — — LYD704 83785.2 — — — — — — 6.29 0.27 4 LYD704 83785.5 0.425 0.05 32 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.321 — — 12.0 — — 6.05 — — LGP52 76963.1 — — — 13.0 0.28 12 6.00 0.17 7 CONT. — — — — 11.6 — — 5.59 — — LYD919 83642.2 — — — 12.0 L 17 6.18 0.02 12 LYD919 83644.3 — — — 11.2 0.28 9 5.98 0.18 9 LYD919 83646.1 — — — 11.4 0.20 11 — — — LYD898 83641.5 — — — 11.3 0.24 10 5.96 0.07 8 LYD898 83641.8 0.379 0.22 18 11.7 0.14 14 — — — LYD894 84361.1 — — — — — — 5.69 0.15 3 LYD894 84362.1 0.359 0.17 12 — — — — — — LYD894 84362.2 0.364 0.28 14 10.9 0.11 7 5.67 0.09 3 LYD894 84362.3 — — — — — — 5.61 0.25 2 LYD886 83634.2 — — — 10.9 0.17 6 5.64 0.14 3 LYD886 83634.3 0.380 0.08 19 11.0 0.26 7 — — — LYD886 83636.1 — — — 11.6 L 14 5.88 0.07 7 LYD886 83636.3 0.353 0.24 10 — — — — — — LYD883 83911.4 — — — — — — 5.63 0.28 2 LYD883 83912.3 — — — 12.7 L 24 6.28 L 14 LYD882 84064.4 0.371 0.25 16 — — — — — — LYD882 84065.1 — — — 11.3 0.06 10 5.83 0.17 6 LYD871 83716.2 0.379 0.06 18 12.0 0.03 17 5.86 0.18 7 LYD871 83718.6 — — — 12.5 0.09 22 6.12 L 11 LYD865 83731.1 — — — 12.9 0.10 26 6.17 0.19 12 LYD865 83733.5 — — — 11.0 0.09 8 5.65 0.15 3 LYD839 83522.1 — — — 10.7 0.30 4 — — — LYD811 83711.4 — — — 11.0 0.29 8 5.73 0.05 4 LYD811 83713.3 — — — 12.0 0.11 17 6.04 0.12 10 LYD793 83499.2 — — — 11.5 0.02 12 5.88 0.06 7 LYD793 83499.7 — — — 11.1 0.07 8 — — — LYD793 83500.4 0.367 0.10 15 — — — — — — LYD786 84582.1 0.360 0.16 12 — — — — — — LYD786 84582.2 0.356 0.26 11 — — — — — — LYD777 83489.3 — — — 12.1 L 18 5.92 L 8 LYD777 83492.3 — — — 11.1 0.06 8 — — — LYD777 83493.3 — — — 10.7 0.25 5 — — — LYD772 84526.1 — — — 10.8 0.14 6 5.61 0.25 2 LYD772 84529.1 0.368 0.16 15 — — — — — — LYD772 84529.2 — — — 11.5 0.21 12 5.85 L 6 LYD772 84529.3 0.361 0.20 12 — — — — — — LYD748 84918.3 — — — — — — 5.64 0.15 2 LYD748 84919.4 — — — — — — 5.69 0.15 3 LYD747 85011.1 — — — — — — 5.84 0.18 6 LYD747 85011.3 — — — 10.7 0.25 5 5.67 0.09 3 LYD747 85014.1 — — — — — — 5.61 0.25 2 LYD745 84261.1 — — — 11.2 0.12 9 5.73 0.04 4 LYD745 84262.1 — — — 11.8 0.10 16 5.97 L 9 LYD745 84263.1 — — — 11.7 0.05 14 6.15 L 12 CONT. — 0.321 — — 10.2 — — 5.50 — — LGP46 77258.3 0.354 0.20 8 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.327 — — — — — — — — LGP47 76956.1 0.350 0.13 17 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.300 — — — — — — — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 177 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Seed Yield [mg] 1000 Seed Weight [mg] Gene Name Event # Ave. P-Val. % Incr. Ave. P-Val. % Incr. LGP54 77039.1 — — — 22.4 0.09 5 LGP53 76966.2 — — — 25.7 L 20 LGP53 76968.1 — — — 26.1 L 22 LGP52 76962.1 — — — 26.6 L 25 LGP52 76963.1 — — — 23.9 0.06 12 LGP52 76965.2 — — — 26.0 L 22 CONT. — — — — 21.3 — — LGP58 76972.1 344.0 0.20 19 — — — LGP58 76975.5 — — — 21.0 0.12 5 LGP48 77202.1 354.5 0.05 23 21.1 0.08 6 LGP48 77202.4 320.2 0.28 11 — — — LGP48 77203.2 345.9 0.23 20 — — — LGP48 77204.3 — — — 22.4 L 12 LGP48 77204.6 337.4 0.29 17 — — — LGP47 76960.3 347.1 0.07 20 — — — CONT. — 289.0 — — 20.0 — — LYD930 83831.3 — — — 27.9 0.22 22 LYD930 83832.3 — — — 27.2 L 20 LYD930 83833.4 518.1 0.27 18 — — — LYD881 84058.5 537.8 0.14 22 — — — LYD877 83630.2 — — — 26.0 L 14 LYD877 83630.3 — — — 25.7 0.01 13 LYD863 83808.4 — — — 27.6 0.11 21 LYD863 83810.7 — — — 26.6 0.12 17 LYD846 83533.4 — — — 27.1 0.15 19 LYD788 83798.3 479.1 0.26 9 — — — LYD788 83798.4 — — — 25.2 0.27 11 LYD783 84170.1 506.9 0.06 15 24.5 0.07 8 LYD783 84170.3 505.3 0.07 15 — — — LYD783 84172.2 — — — 24.2 0.11 6 LYD779 83704.2 — — — 26.9 L 18 LYD776 83944.1 592.4 0.23 35 — — — LYD776 83947.6 514.5 0.04 17 24.0 0.20 5 LYD764 83479.4 — — — 26.0 0.28 14 LYD764 83483.6 — — — 25.7 0.27 13 LYD731 83456.1 — — — 24.3 0.12 7 LYD713 83788.3 — — — 25.4 0.29 12 LYD710 83895.3 — — — 26.7 0.09 17 LYD710 83895.6 — — 28.3 0.12 24 — LYD708 83451.7 — — — 24.4 0.09 7 LYD700 84149.4 — — — 24.2 0.22 6 LYD700 84150.3 — — — 28.6 0.14 26 LYD700 84151.4 498.8 0.09 13 — — — LYD698 83778.1 — — — 26.7 0.17 17 LYD698 83780.3 — — — 24.9 0.08 9 LYD698 83780.4 487.8 0.26 11 — — — CONT. — 440.0 — — 22.8 — — LGP77 81453.3 — — — 21.9 0.05 12 CONT. — — — — 19.5 — — LGP73 81449.3 390.3 0.28 18 — — — LGP73 81449.8 373.7 0.12 13 24.8 L 32 CONT. — 330.5 — — 18.7 — — LYD930 83831.3 — — — 23.4 0.17 17 LYD930 83832.3 — — — 24.1 0.12 21 LYD881 84058.5 — — — 21.5 0.29 8 LYD877 83630.3 — — — 24.1 0.05 21 LYD863 83808.4 357.6 0.21 11 22.2 L 12 LYD863 83810.6 — — — 24.4 0.16 23 LYD846 83529.5 — — — 20.6 0.28 4 LYD846 83531.4 — — — 20.9 0.27 5 LYD831 83803.5 404.6 0.11 26 — — — LYD831 83803.6 394.3 0.02 23 — — — LYD788 83798.4 — — — 23.4 0.14 17 LYD788 83800.1 348.2 0.26 9 — — — LYD788 83800.4 361.8 0.14 13 21.6 0.09 9 LYD788 83800.5 413.1 L 29 — — — LYD783 84172.2 408.8 L 27 — — — LYD779 83704.2 373.6 0.05 16 — — — LYD779 83708.4 415.9 0.12 30 21.0 0.28 6 LYD776 83944.1 351.5 0.22 10 — — — LYD764 83479.4 — — — 23.8 L 20 LYD740 83461.4 358.3 0.15 12 — — — LYD731 83456.1 413.9 0.08 29 — — — LYD731 83456.3 — — — 21.1 0.27 6 LYD715 84158.1 — — — 23.7 0.17 19 LYD713 83788.3 — — — 23.7 L 19 LYD713 83789.3 434.4 0.20 35 — — — LYD708 83451.5 366.5 0.20 14 — — — LYD698 83778.1 — — — 21.4 0.06 8 LYD698 83780.3 429.0 0.01 34 — — — LGP49 77651.8 — — — 20.8 0.15 4 LGP49 77652.6 — — — 24.6 0.06 23 CONT. — — — — 20.0 — — LYD919 83644.2 390.9 0.08 13 — — — LYD913 84198.7 424.2 0.01 23 — — — LYD909 84174.1 — — — 20.2 0.29 7 LYD898 83641.5 — — — 22.3 0.01 18 LYD896 83659.2 — — — 23.9 0.06 27 LYD895 83535.5 403.5 0.04 17 — — — LYD886 83635.4 400.2 0.30 16 — — — LYD882 84065.1 — — — 19.6 0.30 4 LYD840 84085.2 — — — 21.5 L 14 LYD786 84582.1 396.1 0.27 15 — — — LYD745 84262.1 375.5 0.22 9 — — — LYD733 83766.5 375.8 0.24 9 — — — LYD733 83768.3 376.2 0.24 9 — — — LYD717 84353.1 392.3 0.21 14 — — — CONT. — 345.3 — — 18.8 — — LGP45 77196.1 — — — 24.5 L 18 CONT. — — — — 20.8 — — LGP32 75397.4 178.8 0.05 26 — — — CONT. — 141.9 — — — — — LGP74 81326.1 — — — 25.6 0.08 10 LGP74 81328.3 — — — 24.9 0.28 8 CONT. — — — — 23.2 — — LGP43 76951.2 304.6 0.27 11 — LNU82 — 4- LGP43 76955.2 — — — 22.9 0.04 15 CONT. — 274.9 — — 20.0 — — LGP74 81328.3 — — — 22.6 0.02 13 CONT. — — — — 19.9 — — LGP71 82500.4 — — — 24.8 0.10 15 LGP71 82503.1 — — — 25.8 0.02 19 LGP71 82503.2 — — — 23.7 0.10 10 CONT. — — — — 21.7 — — LGP73 81449.8 — — — 28.2 0.04 18 CONT. — — — — 23.8 — — LGP71 82500.4 — — — 23.7 L 25 LGP71 82503.1 — — — 23.4 0.02 24 CONT. — — — — 19.0 — — LGP34 75739.3 — — — 24.8 0.08 10 CONT. — — — — 22.5 — — LYD915 84658.1 473.2 0.15 23 — — — LYD913 84195.4 — — — 23.7 L 12 LYD909 84177.1 444.8 0.21 16 — — — LYD899 83722.1 420.1 0.23 9 — — — LYD895 83535.5 427.3 0.20 11 — — — LYD895 83537.3 445.9 0.23 16 — — — LYD848 84292.5 — — — 23.1 0.22 9 LYD840 84085.2 — — — 25.4 0.02 20 LYD833 83511.1 430.5 0.11 12 22.7 0.07 8 LYD789 84131.3 448.0 0.12 16 — — — LYD733 83768.1 428.4 0.12 11 — — — LYD717 84356.2 463.2 0.02 20 — — — LYD704 83785.5 469.4 0.01 22 — — — CONT. — 384.7 — — 21.2 — — LGP54 77039.1 — — — 22.6 L 8 LGP53 76966.2 — — — 25.9 L 23 LGP53 76968.1 — — — 25.3 0.03 21 LGP53 76968.4 — — — 21.9 0.18 4 LGP52 76962.1 — — — 25.1 L 19 LGP52 76963.1 423.6 0.27 14 24.5 L 16 LGP52 76963.3 — — — 21.8 0.12 4 LGP52 76965.2 — — — 24.9 L 19 CONT. — 370.5 — — 21.0 — — LGP34 75737.4 — — — 21.6 0.13 5 LGP34 75739.3 — — — 24.6 L 20 CONT. — — — — 20.6 — — LYD919 83646.1 — — — 22.2 0.18 12 LYD900 83738.8 — — — 23.1 0.01 17 LYD898 83641.5 — — — 25.6 0.21 29 LYD898 83641.8 451.3 0.13 10 — — — LYD894 84362.2 458.6 0.13 12 — — — LYD894 84362.3 — — — 20.6 0.09 4 LYD886 83634.3 509.9 0.07 25 — — — LYD886 83636.3 500.2 0.25 22 20.9 0.05 5 LYD883 83911.2 454.4 0.12 11 — — — LYD883 83912.3 444.7 0.20 9 — — — LYD882 84064.4 442.3 0.22 8 — — — LYD871 83716.2 453.1 0.17 11 — — — LYD871 83718.6 — — — 20.6 0.08 4 LYD865 83730.1 — — — 22.8 0.26 15 LYD865 83733.5 444.7 0.22 9 — — — LYD839 83521.1 — — — 24.6 L 24 LYD839 83522.1 — — — 23.1 L 17 LYD793 83499.7 — — — 23.0 L 16 LYD786 84582.1 463.9 0.07 14 — — — LYD777 83489.3 — — — 20.3 0.29 3 LYD772 84529.1 481.7 0.16 18 — — — LYD772 84529.2 — — — 24.6 L 24 LYD747 85011.3 — — — 21.8 0.12 10 LYD745 84262.1 — — — 21.9 0.11 10 CONT. — 408.6 — — 19.8 — — LGP44 75764.8 — — — 23.4 0.04 14 LGP44 75765.3 — — — 21.0 0.13 2 CONT. — — — — 20.5 — — LGP46 77256.1 — — — 20.9 0.25 6 LGP45 77196.1 — — — 24.7 L 25 LGP19 76938.3 303.6 0.15 17 — — — LGP19 76939.1 20.4 0.27 4 — — — CONT. — 259.9 — — 19.7 — — LGP48 77204.3 — — — 23.5 0.01 13 LGP47 76956.1 316.7 0.21 14 — — — CONT. — 277.7 — — 20.8 — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

Example 27 Evaluation of Transgenic Arabidopsis for Seed Yield and Plant Growth Rate Under Normal Conditions in Greenhouse Assays Until Bolting (GH-SB Assays)

Assay 2: plant performance improvement measured until bolting stage: plant biomass and plant growth rate under normal greenhouse conditions (GH-SB Assays)—This assay follows the plant biomass formation and the rosette area growth of plants grown in the greenhouse under normal growth conditions. Transgenic Arabidopsis seeds were sown in agar media supplemented with ½ MS medium and a selection agent (Kanamycin). The T2 transgenic seedlings were then transplanted to 1.7 trays filled with peat and perlite in a 1:1 ratio. Plants were grown under normal conditions which included irrigation of the trays with a solution containing of 6 mM inorganic nitrogen in the form of KNO₃ with 1 mM KH₂PO₄, 1 mM MgSO₄, 2 mM CaCl₂ and microelements. Under normal conditions the plants grow in a controlled environment in a closed transgenic greenhouse; temperature was 18-22° C., humidity around 70%; Irrigation was done by flooding with a water solution containing 6 mM N (nitrogen) (as described hereinabove), and flooding was repeated whenever water loss reached 50%. All plants were grown in the greenhouse until bolting stage. Plant biomass (the above ground tissue) was weighted directly after harvesting the rosette (plant fresh weight [FW]). Following plants were dried in an oven at 50° C. for 48 hours and weighted (plant dry weight [DW]).

Each construct was validated at its T2 generation. Transgenic plants transformed with a construct conformed by an empty vector carrying the At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15751) and the selectable marker, were used as control. Additionally or alternatively, Mock-transgenic plants expressing the uidA reporter gene (GUS-Intron) or with no gene at all, under the same promoter were used as control.

The plants were analyzed for their overall size, growth rate, fresh weight and dry matter. Transgenic plants performance was compared to control plants grown in parallel under the same conditions. The experiment was planned in nested randomized plot distribution. For each gene of the invention three to five independent transformation events were analyzed from each construct.

Digital imaging—A laboratory image acquisition system, which consists of a digital reflex camera (Canon EOS 300D) attached with a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-S series), mounted on a reproduction device (Kaiser RS), which includes 4 light units (4×150 Watts light bulb) was used for capturing images of plant samples.

The image capturing process was repeated every 2 days starting from day 1 after transplanting till day 15. Same camera, placed in a custom made iron mount, was used for capturing images of larger plants sawn in white tubs in an environmental controlled greenhouse. The tubs were square shape include 1.7 liter trays. During the capture process, the tubes were placed beneath the iron mount, while avoiding direct sun light and casting of shadows.

An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.39 [Java based image processing program which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data was calculated, including leaf number, rosette area, rosette diameter, and leaf blade area.

Vegetative Growth Rate:

the relative growth rate (RGR) of leaf number (Formula VIII, described above), rosette area (Formula IX described above) and plot coverage (Formula XI, described above) were calculated using the indicated formulas.

Plant Fresh and Dry weight—On about day 80 from sowing, the plants were harvested and directly weight for the determination of the plant fresh weight (FW) and left to dry at 50° C. in a drying chamber for about 48 hours before weighting to determine plant dry weight (DW).

Statistical analyses—To identify outperforming genes and constructs, results from the independent transformation events tested were analyzed separately. Data was analyzed using Student's t-test and results were considered significant if the p value was less than 0.1. The JMP statistics software package was used (Version 5.2.1, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C., USA).

Experimental Results:

Tables 178-180 summarize the observed phenotypes of transgenic plants expressing the genes constructs using the GH-SB Assays.

The genes listed in Tables 178-180 improved plant performance when grown at normal conditions. These genes produced larger plants with a larger photosynthetic area, biomass (fresh weight, dry weight, rosette diameter, rosette area and plot coverage), relative growth rate, blade relative area and petiole relative area. The genes were cloned under the regulation of a constitutive At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 15751). The evaluation of each gene was performed by testing the performance of different number of events. Event with p-value<0.1 was considered statistically significant

TABLE 178 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Dry Weight [mg] Fresh Weight [mg] Leaf Number P- % P- % P- % Gene Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LYD897 84444.13 117.5 0.18 10 — — — — — — LYD888 84613.2 117.5 0.18 10 1481.2 0.09 13 — — — LYD869_H1 85982.3 116.2 0.27 9 — — — — — — LYD869_H1 85983.1 126.9 0.03 19 1512.5 0.18 16 — — — LYD859 83953.6 — — — 1431.2 0.29 9 — — — LYD859 83957.5 121.9 0.12 14 1525.0 0.25 17 10.4 0.04 9 LYD853 86496.1 118.8 0.18 11 — — — 10.1 0.08 5 LYD853 86497.6 120.0 0.12 13 1475.0 0.09 13 — — — LYD853 86497.7 125.0 0.22 17 — — — — — — LYD828 85324.2 118.8 0.15 11 — — — — — — LYD828 85324.4 — — — 1400.0 0.27 7 — — — LYD826 85587.2 118.8 0.18 11 1425.0 0.17 9 — — — LYD795 85978.4 — — — — — — 10.2 0.02 7 LYD790 84574.2 118.8 0.15 11 1406.2 0.24 8 — — — LYD790 84574.5 115.6 0.26 9 — — — — — — LYD756 85069.8 — — — — — — 10.1 0.22 5 LYD750 84966.3 128.1 0.07 20 1593.8 0.18 22 — — — LYD744 86509.2 120.6 0.12 13 1406.2 0.26 8 — — — LYD699 85972.6 126.2 0.07 18 1481.2 0.17 13 — — — CONT. — 106.6 — — 1307.7 — — 9.61 — — LYD908 84445.1 50.0 0.11 21 687.5 0.02 31 10.6 L 11 LYD908 84446.1 — — — — — — 10.4 0.01 8 LYD908 84447.1 60.0 L 45 781.2 0.02 49 10.9 L 14 LYD908 84447.4 61.9 L 50 781.2 0.12 49 10.7 0.11 11 LYD876 83416.3 51.9 0.25 26 706.2 0.05 35 10.6 L 11 LYD876 83417.3 57.5 0.01 39 631.2 0.26 20 — — — LYD876 83417.6 — — — — — — 10.5 L 9 LYD876 83418.2 — — — — — — 10.5 L 9 LYD865 83730.1 — — — — — — 11.1 0.07 15 LYD865 83731.1 — — — — — — 10.2 0.15 7 LYD865 83733.5 — — — — — — 10.2 0.29 7 LYD864 83406.2 — — — — — — 10.3 0.20 8 LYD864 83406.4 55.6 0.04 35 675.0 0.02 29 — — — LYD864 83409.2 — — — — — — 10.8 0.09 13 LYD864 83409.3 56.2 0.02 36 806.2 0.04 54 10.6 0.23 10 LYD864 83409.4 — — — — — — 10.3 0.06 8 LYD843 83772.1 53.1 0.04 29 700.0 0.02 33 10.4 0.12 8 LYD843 83774.1 — — — — — — 10.1 0.16 5 LYD843 83775.2 56.2 0.24 36 787.5 0.14 50 — — — LYD843 83775.4 58.8 0.14 42 706.2 0.05 35 10.0 0.11 4 LYD842 83524.4 48.8 0.17 18 618.8 0.11 18 9.94 0.11 4 LYD842 83526.5 — — — — — — 10.3 L 8 LYD842 83528.2 51.9 0.06 26 668.8 0.03 27 10.7 0.02 11 LYD835 84139.1 — — — 612.5 0.13 17 10.7 0.02 11 LYD835 84141.2 — — — — — — 10.1 0.16 5 LYD835 84141.3 59.4 L 44 681.2 0.02 30 10.2 0.10 6 LYD835 84143.1 — — — — — — 10.6 0.13 10 LYD835 84143.2 55.6 0.02 35 693.8 0.03 32 9.81 0.27 2 LYD821 84053.3 62.5 L 52 825.0 L 57 11.9 0.08 24 LYD821 84054.1 65.0 0.17 58 775.0 0.03 48 10.9 L 14 LYD821 84054.4 — — — 606.2 0.16 15 10.7 0.02 11 LYD821 84054.6 — — — — — — 10.1 0.16 5 LYD793 83499.5 — — — — — — 9.88 0.24 3 LYD793 83499.7 50.0 0.29 21 — — — — — — LYD793 83500.4 57.5 0.09 39 737.5 L 40 10.7 0.11 11 LYD777 83489.3 — — — 662.5 0.20 26 10.2 0.03 7 LYD777 83491.3 — — — — — — 9.81 0.27 2 LYD777 83492.3 — — — 637.5 0.09 21 10.2 0.15 7 LYD777 83492.4 — — — 637.5 0.07 21 — — — LYD777 83493.3 60.0 L 45 762.5 L 45 — — — LYD767 83485.1 52.5 0.05 27 787.5 L 50 10.8 L 12 LYD767 83486.2 49.4 0.15 20 737.5 L 40 10.7 0.11 11 LYD767 83488.1 — — — 656.2 0.25 25 10.0 0.11 4 LYD767 83488.5 — — — 662.5 0.08 26 10.8 L 12 LYD753 83916.1 — — — 656.2 0.04 25 10.4 L 8 LYD753 83917.2 — — — — — — 10.2 0.02 6 LYD753 83917.6 66.9 L 62 806.2 L 54 11.5 L 20 LYD735 84165.1 — — — — — — 10.1 0.21 6 LYD735 84168.2 68.8 0.17 67 — — — 10.5 L 9 LYD730 84258.1 52.5 0.07 27 712.5 0.03 36 11.4 0.02 19 LYD730 84259.1 — — — 637.5 0.20 21 — — — LYD729 84159.1 — — — — — — 10.7 0.11 11 LYD729 84159.4 — — — — — — 10.6 L 10 LYD729 84159.6 — — — 675.0 0.02 29 10.4 0.01 8 LYD729 84160.3 65.6 0.05 59 831.2 0.13 58 10.6 0.13 10 LYD729 84163.2 — — — 612.5 0.22 17 — — — LYD726 84591.1 65.6 0.05 59 837.5 0.04 60 11.1 0.07 15 LYD726 84593.1 65.0 0.04 58 843.8 L 61 11.2 L 17 LYD726 84595.1 — — — 718.8 0.04 37 — — — LYD726 84595.3 — — — — — — 10.7 L 11 LYD720 83761.3 — — — — — — 10.1 0.05 6 LYD720 83763.1 75.3 L 82 1035.7 0.30 97 10.8 L 13 LYD720 83764.2 — — — 737.5 0.23 40 10.4 0.04 9 LYD720 83764.3 — — — 718.8 L 37 10.8 0.02 13 LYD705 83382.6 — — — — — — 10.2 0.03 7 LYD705 83384.4 — — — 687.5 0.02 31 — — — CONT. — 41.2 — — 525.0 — — 9.59 — — LGP8 75405.1 — — — — — 12.5 0.10 6 LGP20 76945.5 — — — 4365.6 0.14 10 — — — CONT. — — — — 3975.9 — — 11.8 — — LGP43 76955.2 — — — 5075.0 0.07 6 — — — CONT. — — — — 4801.8 — — — — — LYD914 84179.2 55.6 0.22 13 631.2 0.22 23 — — — LYD914 84183.6 53.1 0.10 8 — — — 11.9 0.10 4 LYD901 83883.3 — — — — — — 12.1 0.16 6 LYD892 84250.5 55.6 0.02 13 — — — — — — LYD892 84250.7 61.9 0.01 26 718.8 L 40 — — — LYD876 83418.2 — — — 11.8 0.07 3 — — — LYD876 83418.3 — — — 642.0 0.05 25 — — — LYD870 83815.7 — — — 591.1 0.23 15 — — — LYD864 83409.3 — — — — — — 11.8 0.21 2 LYD864 83409.4 — — — — — — 12.5 L 9 LYD847 83403.1 — — — 601.8 0.14 17 — — — LYD843 83772.1 55.0 0.05 12 — — — — — — LYD843 83775.2 57.5 0.09 17 — — — — — — LYD842 83526.5 — — — 668.8 0.26 30 — — — LYD781 83496.3 53.2 0.20 8 — — — — — — LYD755 84033.1 — — — 593.8 0.20 16 11.8 0.26 3 LYD753 83917.6 — — — — — — 11.9 0.16 4 LYD735 84165.1 — — — 612.5 0.07 19 — — — LYD727 83791.1 — — — 613.4 0.07 20 — — — LYD727 83793.2 — — — — — — 11.8 0.26 3 LYD727 83795.2 — — — 656.2 0.02 28 — — — LYD722 84944.3 59.4 0.21 21 — — — 12.0 0.05 5 LYD722 84944.4 57.5 0.21 17 656.2 0.02 28 12.4 0.15 8 CONT. — 49.1 — — 513.3 — — 11.5 — — LGP1 76249.3 — — — — — — 11.7 0.25 3 LGP1 76250.4 — — — — — — 11.7 0.24 4 CONT. — — — — — — — 11.3 — — LYD922 83821.3 60.0 0.06 25 868.8 0.02 38 — — — LYD922 83823.5 65.0 0.04 35 — — — 10.9 0.15 5 LYD922 83823.6 — — — — — — 11.0 0.08 6 LYD905 84147.2 — — — — — — 11.1 0.05 7 LYD901 83883.2 64.6 0.25 34 736.6 0.26 17 11.2 0.06 8 LYD901 83883.3 — — — — — — 11.0 0.17 6 LYD901 83886.6 61.9 0.03 29 812.5 0.04 29 11.4 0.01 10 LYD883 83911.3 56.9 0.17 18 737.5 0.21 17 — — — LYD883 83912.2 57.5 0.09 20 775.0 0.14 23 11.3 0.11 9 LYD883 83912.3 58.1 0.08 21 837.5 0.02 33 11.6 0.23 11 LYD860 83622.1 54.4 0.23 13 — — — — — — LYD860 83625.4 — — — 812.5 0.12 29 12.2 0.24 17 LYD839 83521.3 — — — — — — 10.8 0.27 4 LYD839 83522.1 58.1 0.13 21 — — — — — — LYD839 83523.1 — — — — — — 10.9 0.15 5 LYD839 83523.6 — — — 762.5 0.10 21 — — — LYD836 83514.4 — — — — — — 11.6 0.18 12 LYD836 83515.5 — — — 756.2 0.12 20 — — — LYD833 83512.2 — — — 731.2 0.19 16 — — — LYD833 83513.5 55.6 0.18 16 775.0 0.08 23 11.4 L 10 LYD811 83713.4 — — — 737.5 0.21 17 — — — LYD789 84130.3 57.5 0.26 20 775.0 0.30 23 — — — LYD789 84131.3 — — — 718.8 0.27 14 — — — LYD781 83494.1 58.1 0.09 21 — — — — — — LYD781 83494.4 54.4 0.23 13 — — 10.8 0.23 4 — LYD755 84032.1 56.9 0.12 18 756.2 0.27 20 10.8 0.25 4 LYD755 84035.1 — — — 800.0 0.05 27 — — — LYD755 84035.2 59.4 0.06 24 — — — 12.1 L 16 LYD742 83467.4 — — — 756.2 0.22 20 10.8 0.18 4 LYD739 83386.2 58.1 0.19 21 — — — 11.7 L 13 LYD739 83389.4 — — — 725.0 0.22 15 — — — LYD725 84190.3 — — — 856.2 0.02 36 11.3 0.02 9 LYD725 84191.1 61.2 0.08 28 856.2 0.02 36 — — — LYD704 83781.1 60.6 0.04 26 — — — — — — LYD704 83785.7 — — — — — — 10.8 0.25 4 CONT. — 48.0 — — 628.8 — — 10.4 — — LYD925 85844.1 71.0 0.13 27 919.6 L 34 11.4 L 11 LYD925 85844.3 70.6 0.06 26 750.0 0.28 10 — — — LYD920 83760.3 63.1 0.28 13 768.8 0.15 12 10.9 0.20 5 LYD897 84444.6 — — — — — — 11.7 0.13 13 LYD869_H1 85983.1 75.6 0.27 35 — — — 10.9 0.20 5 LYD854 84992.3 70.6 0.10 26 — — — 11.0 0.27 7 LYD854 84993.2 68.1 0.08 21 — — — — — — LYD826 85585.1 — — — — — — 10.7 0.19 4 LYD826 85587.1 68.8 0.07 23 850.0 0.15 24 11.7 L 13 LYD826 85587.5 67.5 0.27 20 — — — — — — LYD824 83903.3 76.9 0.01 37 993.8 L 45 — — — LYD824 83905.3 76.2 0.24 36 1000.0 0.02 46 10.7 0.19 4 LYD824 83907.2 — — — — — — 10.9 0.06 5 LYD824 83907.6 — — — — — — 11.6 0.07 12 LYD816 85591.1 75.6 0.01 35 1025.0 L 50 — — — LYD816 85594.2 — — — — — — 11.5 0.28 11 LYD814 84971.2 — — — — — — 10.7 0.19 4 LYD814 84973.3 — — — — — — 10.8 0.11 5 LYD814 84973.6 75.0 0.02 34 — — — 11.4 0.05 10 LYD791 85129.4 81.2 0.01 45 925.0 L 35 11.8 L 14 LYD791 85129.5 74.2 0.03 32 933.9 L 37 11.1 0.02 7 LYD790 84574.2 88.8 L 58 1100.0 L 61 11.9 0.10 16 LYD778 85053.2 — — — — — — 11.0 0.04 7 LYD778 85053.3 62.6 0.30 12 817.9 0.24 20 11.2 0.01 9 LYD774 83938.1 — — — — — — 10.8 0.16 4 LYD774 83938.4 65.0 0.19 16 — — — — — — LYD774 83940.2 70.6 0.05 26 868.8 0.05 27 11.2 L 9 LYD769 84121.5 77.5 0.09 38 — — — 11.0 0.14 7 LYD769 84123.1 73.3 0.27 31 851.8 0.21 25 11.2 0.01 9 LYD769 84123.3 — — — — — — 11.2 0.01 9 LYD756 85067.2 — — — 881.2 0.28 29 11.1 0.02 8 LYD756 85069.8 69.4 0.24 24 — — — 10.9 0.10 6 LYD752 85046.5 — — — 743.8 0.29 9 — — — LYD752 85047.2 — — — — — — 10.7 0.19 4 LYD752 85049.1 77.5 L 38 887.5 0.10 30 11.1 0.02 8 LYD741 84426.6 67.1 0.25 20 — — — — — — LYD741 84426.7 — — — — — — 10.8 0.17 5 LYD702 84412.3 — — — — — — 10.7 0.29 4 CONT. — 56.1 — — 683.9 — — 10.3 — — LYD917 84186.4 — — — — — — 11.8 L 8 LYD917 84187.1 57.0 0.19 22 — — — — — — LYD917 84188.2 53.1 0.21 14 — — — — — — LYD917 84188.3 53.2 0.09 14 — — — — — — LYD912 83820.5 — — — — — — 11.4 0.14 5 LYD908 84447.4 58.3 0.23 25 — — — 11.4 0.14 5 LYD905 84145.4 52.5 0.19 13 — — — — — — LYD905 84146.3 56.9 0.09 22 662.5 0.01 33 — — — LYD905 84147.2 54.4 0.03 17 — — — 11.9 0.02 9 LYD905 84147.5 — — — — — — 11.4 0.12 4 LYD860 83625.4 50.5 0.29 9 — — — 11.2 0.29 3 LYD838 83997.2 — — — — — — 11.4 0.26 4 LYD838 83998.1 — — — — — — 11.4 0.26 4 LYD838 83999.2 — — — — — — 11.2 0.29 3 LYD838 84000.2 52.1 0.17 12 566.1 0.19 14 11.6 0.03 6 LYD836 83516.2 — — — — — — 11.2 0.24 3 LYD836 83518.2 — — — 568.8 0.25 14 — — — LYD835 84141.2 — — — — — — 11.2 0.24 3 LYD835 84141.3 — — — — — — 11.3 0.14 4 LYD809 83504.4 — — — — — — 11.4 0.07 5 LYD767 83485.1 — — — 681.2 L 37 — — — LYD767 83488.1 — — — 562.5 0.26 13 — — — LYD767 83488.5 58.1 0.16 25 — — — 11.4 0.29 5 LYD742 83467.4 63.9 0.28 37 — — — — — — LYD738 84027.1 — — — 600.0 0.15 20 11.5 0.18 5 LYD729 84159.4 — — — 573.2 0.15 15 — — — LYD729 84161.2 54.8 0.08 18 — — — 11.4 0.12 4 LYD726 84593.1 51.9 0.11 12 — — — — — — LYD726 84595.3 — — — — — — 11.8 L 8 LYD725 84189.3 55.0 0.03 18 — — — — — — LYD705 83382.6 56.9 0.19 22 — — — — — — CONT. — 46.5 — — 498.7 — — 10.9 — — LYD874 84407.1 — — — 721.4 0.11 10 — — — LYD874 85656.1 55.0 0.04 13 700.0 0.24 7 10.6 0.11 8 LYD874 85658.1 56.9 0.05 17 750.0 0.25 15 — — — LYD834 84452.4 54.4 0.13 12 — — — 10.8 0.18 9 LYD829 85058.4 59.4 L 22 787.5 L 20 10.9 0.01 10 LYD829 85058.8 — — — 752.7 0.03 15 10.7 0.02 8 LYD829 85059.3 51.9 0.25 6 — — — — — — LYD806 85557.1 68.8 L 41 906.2 L 39 11.6 L 18 LYD798 84533.1 — — — 731.2 0.17 12 10.2 0.27 3 LYD798 84533.4 61.9 0.06 27 731.2 0.17 12 — — — LYD798 84533.5 53.1 0.21 9 — — — — — — LYD794 86031.4 — — — 706.2 0.23 8 — — — LYD765 85811.2 58.8 0.25 21 768.8 0.15 18 10.8 0.21 10 LYD765 85811.3 — — — 751.8 0.06 15 — — — LYD765 85814.2 66.2 L 36 825.0 0.16 26 — — — LYD762 85112.5 66.9 0.25 37 837.5 0.29 28 11.3 0.04 15 LYD762 — — — — — — — 10.6 0.11 8 LYD762 85114.3 60.6 0.01 24 781.2 0.12 20 10.8 0.18 9 LYD761 83477.2 54.4 0.06 12 — — — — — — LYD760 83699.1 58.0 L 19 — — — 10.2 0.27 3 LYD760 83703.2 57.5 0.08 18 — — — 10.6 0.11 8 LYD754 85597.1 56.2 0.11 15 737.5 0.30 13 — — — LYD754 85597.2 57.5 0.02 18 737.5 0.06 13 10.4 0.08 6 LYD754 85598.1 — — — — — — 10.6 0.19 7 LYD751 85720.2 59.4 0.02 22 768.8 0.23 18 — — — LYD751 85720.3 — — — — — — 10.6 0.23 8 LYD749 84423.6 — — — — — — 10.3 0.22 4 LYD749 84423.8 — — — — — — 10.5 0.29 7 LYD711 85315.1 — — — — — — 10.9 0.01 10 LYD711 85316.3 55.6 0.20 14 725.0 0.09 11 — — — LYD711 85316.5 70.6 L 45 868.8 L 33 11.2 L 14 LYD703 85102.2 — — — — — — 10.2 0.27 3 CONT. — 48.8 — — 653.6 — — 9.86 — — LYD925 85840.1 — — — — — — 9.69 0.10 8 LYD925 85844.1 112.5 0.11 12 1387.5 0.16 11 9.50 L 6 LYD924 86506.3 112.5 0.11 12 — — — — — — LYD924 86506.5 111.9 0.29 12 1362.5 0.24 9 9.69 L 8 LYD884 84576.1 128.1 0.17 28 — — — 9.31 0.05 3 LYD884 84579.2 — — — — — — 9.56 L 6 LYD884 84580.3 — — — — — — 9.62 0.03 7 LYD879 85963.1 127.5 0.02 27 1556.2 0.20 24 9.44 0.19 5 LYD879 85964.1 — — — — — — 9.25 0.24 3 LYD878 84487.1 110.6 0.16 11 1393.8 0.11 11 9.50 0.06 6 LYD878 84488.11 — — — — — — 9.19 0.21 2 LYD878 84488.5 113.1 0.15 13 1362.5 0.20 9 — — — LYD878 84488.8 111.9 0.29 12 1475.0 0.24 18 — — — LYD834 84452.3 — — — — — — 9.62 0.19 7 LYD834 84452.4 — — — 1343.8 0.28 7 — — — LYD829 85058.3 120.6 0.02 21 1531.2 0.22 22 — — — LYD829 85058.4 108.8 0.22 9 — — — 9.50 0.06 6 LYD829 85058.8 122.5 0.16 22 1450.0 0.11 16 9.50 L 6 LYD829 85059.2 — — — 1481.2 0.29 18 — — — LYD829 85059.3 108.8 0.22 9 1375.0 0.17 10 9.56 L 6 LYD813 83725.1 115.6 0.25 16 1493.8 0.15 19 — — — LYD813 83725.2 112.5 0.19 12 1443.8 0.10 15 9.75 0.15 8 LYD813 83726.5 — — — — — — 9.31 0.30 3 LYD813 83728.1 — — — 1356.2 0.22 8 — — — LYD804 84134.1 121.9 0.02 22 1568.8 L 25 — — — LYD804 84134.2 110.6 0.28 11 — — — 9.56 0.13 6 LYD804 84137.5 — — — — — — 9.25 0.08 3 LYD804 84138.2 113.8 0.08 14 — — — — — — LYD804 84138.5 — — — — — — 9.38 0.02 4 LYD798 84533.1 — — — — — — 9.62 L 7 LYD798 84533.3 — — — — — — 9.94 0.26 10 LYD798 84533.6 — — — 1437.5 0.06 15 10.0 L 11 LYD784 84605.1 113.8 0.15 14 1393.8 0.12 11 — — — LYD784 86519.3 — — — — — — 10.1 0.18 12 LYD780 86514.1 — — — — — — 9.44 0.01 5 LYD780 86514.2 121.2 0.26 21 1531.2 0.15 22 9.69 0.10 8 LYD757 83470.2 — — — — — — 9.56 0.30 6 LYD757 83470.5 — — — 1450.0 0.24 16 9.69 0.24 8 LYD757 83472.1 110.0 0.28 10 1400.0 0.10 12 — — — LYD757 83473.4 — — — — — — 9.62 0.03 7 LYD754 85597.1 124.4 0.08 24 1587.5 0.19 27 10.0 L 11 LYD754 85597.2 125.0 0.06 25 1568.8 0.02 25 — — — LYD754 85599.4 — — — — — — 9.50 0.06 6 LYD751 85720.3 118.1 0.06 18 1587.5 L 27 9.75 0.15 8 LYD751 85722.1 127.5 0.04 27 1606.2 L 28 9.69 0.10 8 LYD751 85722.2 114.4 0.07 14 1443.8 0.07 15 9.75 0.15 8 LYD751 85724.1 — — — — — — 9.88 0.01 10 LYD722 84941.2 113.8 0.11 14 1387.5 0.19 11 9.25 0.24 3 LYD722 84944.3 — — — — — — 9.31 0.30 3 LYD722 84945.1 — — — — — — 10.2 L 13 LYD714 84071.1 109.1 0.25 9 1397.3 0.14 12 — — — LYD714 84074.2 123.8 0.01 24 1412.5 0.13 13 — — — LYD714 84075.1 — — — — — — 9.44 0.01 5 LYD714 84075.4 — — — — — — 9.50 0.06 6 LYD702 84411.6 — — — — — — 9.19 0.21 2 LYD702 84411.8 — — — 1343.8 0.28 7 — — — LYD702 84412.3 121.9 0.01 22 1493.8 0.05 19 10.1 0.15 12 LYD702 84412.6 115.0 0.06 15 1362.5 0.24 9 — — — CONT. — 100.1 — — 1252.4 — — 9.00 — — LGP49 77651.3 — — — — — — 12.0 0.16 6 LGP49 77651.8 — — — — — — 12.0 0.07 6 LGP49 77652.6 — — — — — — 11.8 0.26 3 CONT. — — — — — — — 11.4 — — LGP44 75764.8 — — — — — — 11.8 0.12 4 LGP44 75765.3 — — — 5093.8 0.11 5 — — — CONT. — — — — 4866.7 — — 11.3 — — LGP8 75409.5 278.7 0.08 6 4003.6 0.07 11 11.9 0.02 8 LGP21 76332.1 286.3 0.18 9 3945.0 0.27 9 — — — LGP20 76941.5 — — — — — — 12.0 0.01 9 CONT. — 262.8 — — 3606.2 — — 11.0 — — LYD849 86622.2 — — — — — — 10.1 0.35 5 LYD841 85885.2 — — — 1381.2 0.43 6 — — — LYD830 86932.6 113.1 0.41 6 — — — — — — CONT. — 106.6 — — 1307.7 — — 9.61 — — LYD926 83826.2 — — — — — — 10.2 0.48 4 LYD926 83830.2 — — — — — — 10.4 0.48 6 LYD926 83830.3 58.6 0.45 20 — — — — — — CONT. — 48.8 — — — — — 9.86 — — LYD803 87331.3 — — — — — — 9.88 0.06 5 CONT. — — — — — — — 9.38 — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 179 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Plot Coverage Rosette Diameter [cm²] Rosette Area [cm²] [ccm] P- % P- % P- % Gene Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LYD888 84614.1 60.4 0.21 7 7.56 0.21 7 — — — LYD869_H1 85983.1 73.8 0.01 31 9.23 0.01 31 5.13 L 14 LYD859 83953.3 61.5 0.10 9 7.69 0.10 9 4.78 0.03 6 LYD859 83957.5 68.7 0.20 22 8.58 0.20 22 5.00 0.23 11 LYD853 86496.1 66.0 0.01 17 8.25 0.01 17 4.87 0.04 8 LYD853 86497.7 69.3 0.15 23 8.66 0.15 23 4.95 L 10 LYD828 85324.4 61.9 0.08 10 7.74 0.08 10 4.70 0.09 4 LYD826 85587.1 62.2 0.24 11 7.78 0.24 11 4.70 0.13 4 LYD826 85587.2 67.2 0.03 20 8.40 0.03 20 4.85 0.01 8 LYD795 85978.4 62.7 0.18 11 7.84 0.18 11 4.81 0.27 7 LYD790 84574.2 61.6 0.27 10 7.71 0.27 10 — — — LYD750 84966.3 — — — — — — 4.92 0.27 9 LYD744 86509.2 — — — — — — 4.64 0.21 3 LYD744 86509.4 — — — — — — 4.86 0.18 8 LYD699 85972.6 64.4 0.02 15 8.05 0.02 15 4.73 0.06 5 CONT. — 56.2 — — 7.03 — — 4.50 — — LYD908 84445.1 79.1 L 31 9.89 L 31 5.34 0.15 13 LYD908 84446.1 73.5 0.02 22 9.18 0.02 22 5.08 0.10 7 LYD908 84447.1 89.9 L 49 11.2 L 49 5.56 L 17 LYD908 84447.4 88.3 L 47 11.0 L 47 5.70 0.01 20 LYD876 83416.3 82.0 0.06 36 10.2 0.06 36 5.28 0.03 11 LYD876 83417.3 75.8 L 26 9.48 L 26 5.11 0.06 8 LYD876 83418.2 72.0 0.24 20 9.00 0.24 20 — — — LYD865 83730.1 79.4 0.21 32 9.92 0.21 32 5.29 0.23 12 LYD865 83733.5 82.1 0.25 36 10.3 0.25 36 — — — LYD864 83406.4 72.1 0.03 20 9.02 0.03 20 5.09 0.17 7 LYD864 83409.3 90.2 0.05 50 11.3 0.05 50 5.62 0.01 19 LYD843 83772.1 79.4 L 32 9.93 L 32 5.37 0.06 13 LYD843 83774.1 74.4 0.27 24 9.30 0.27 24 — — — LYD843 83775.2 88.9 0.15 48 11.1 0.15 48 5.64 0.09 19 LYD843 83775.4 77.7 0.07 29 9.71 0.07 29 5.22 0.18 10 LYD842 83524.4 70.0 0.17 16 8.75 0.17 16 5.03 0.17 6 LYD842 83528.2 74.0 0.03 23 9.26 0.03 23 5.13 0.07 8 LYD835 84139.1 75.2 0.01 25 9.40 0.01 25 5.23 0.02 10 LYD835 84141.3 73.7 0.03 23 9.22 0.03 23 5.16 0.04 9 LYD835 84143.1 69.7 0.19 16 8.71 0.19 16 — — — LYD835 84143.2 80.2 L 33 10.0 L 33 5.29 0.01 11 LYD821 84053.3 92.5 L 54 11.6 L 54 5.67 L 20 LYD821 84054.1 83.7 L 39 10.5 L 39 5.40 L 14 LYD821 84054.4 71.8 0.03 19 8.97 0.03 19 5.16 0.04 9 LYD793 83499.7 81.1 0.29 35 10.1 0.29 35 5.32 0.26 12 LYD793 83500.4 79.2 0.02 32 9.90 0.02 32 5.29 0.01 11 LYD777 83489.3 74.8 0.12 24 9.35 0.12 24 5.08 0.28 7 LYD777 83492.3 74.1 0.01 23 9.26 0.01 23 5.17 0.03 9 LYD777 83492.4 71.3 0.04 18 8.91 0.04 18 5.18 0.03 9 LYD777 83493.3 81.4 L 35 10.2 L 35 5.34 L 13 LYD767 83485.1 85.4 L 42 10.7 L 42 5.50 0.04 16 LYD767 83486.2 79.6 L 32 9.95 L 32 5.26 0.02 11 LYD767 83488.1 73.6 0.06 22 9.20 0.06 22 5.12 0.18 8 LYD767 83488.5 73.8 0.02 23 9.23 0.02 23 5.15 0.04 9 LYD753 83916.1 77.1 L 28 9.64 L 28 5.31 0.01 12 LYD753 83917.6 92.4 L 54 11.5 L 54 5.66 L 19 LYD735 84167.1 68.7 0.25 14 8.59 0.25 14 — — — LYD735 84168.2 78.6 L 31 9.82 L 31 5.31 0.01 12 LYD730 84258.1 80.7 L 34 10.1 L 34 5.32 0.07 12 LYD729 84159.1 — — — — — — 5.40 0.25 14 LYD729 84159.4 76.2 0.01 27 9.52 0.01 27 5.08 0.15 7 LYD729 84159.6 77.9 L 29 9.73 L 29 5.22 0.02 10 LYD729 84160.3 80.6 L 34 10.1 L 34 5.25 0.04 11 LYD729 84163.2 71.6 0.12 19 8.94 0.12 19 5.15 0.17 8 LYD726 84591.1 92.8 L 54 11.6 L 54 5.63 0.03 19 LYD726 84593.1 90.6 L 51 11.3 L 51 5.71 L 20 LYD726 84595.1 80.0 0.18 33 10.00 0.18 33 5.38 0.05 13 LYD720 83761.2 71.8 0.19 19 8.98 0.19 19 5.06 0.25 7 LYD720 83761.3 66.4 0.19 10 8.30 0.19 10 4.95 0.24 4 LYD720 83763.1 88.4 0.04 47 11.0 0.04 47 5.57 L 17 LYD720 83764.2 81.5 0.11 35 10.2 0.11 35 5.34 0.12 13 LYD720 83764.3 78.9 0.01 31 9.86 0.01 31 5.30 0.05 12 LYD705 83380.2 65.0 0.28 8 8.13 0.28 8 — — — LYD705 83384.4 71.3 0.04 19 8.91 0.04 19 5.11 0.06 8 CONT. — 60.2 — — 7.52 — — 4.74 — — LGP8 75405.1 83.7 0.27 8 10.5 0.27 8 5.33 0.26 5 CONT. — 77.7 — — 9.71 — — 5.09 — — LGP43 76955.2 77.8 0.24 6 9.73 0.24 6 5.26 0.17 4 CONT. — 73.2 — — 9.15 — — 5.06 — — LYD914 84179.2 120.1 0.03 28 15.0 0.03 28 6.58 0.14 14 LYD914 84179.4 101.4 0.22 8 12.7 0.22 8 — — — LYD914 84183.6 121.1 L 29 15.1 L 29 6.73 L 16 LYD892 84250.7 130.4 0.15 39 16.3 0.15 39 6.63 0.07 15 LYD876 83418.3 113.1 0.15 20 15.1 L 28 6.66 L 15 LYD864 83409.3 102.8 0.25 9 12.8 0.25 9 6.07 0.08 5 LYD864 83409.4 120.0 L 28 15.0 L 28 6.52 L 13 LYD843 83774.1 106.9 0.08 14 13.4 0.08 14 6.17 0.02 7 LYD842 83526.5 113.0 0.01 20 14.1 0.01 20 6.44 L 11 LYD781 83498.3 104.4 0.21 11 13.1 0.21 11 6.18 0.06 7 LYD755 84035.2 — — — — — — 5.98 0.22 3 LYD753 83917.2 120.5 0.20 28 15.1 0.20 28 6.63 0.26 15 LYD735 84165.1 113.5 0.03 21 14.2 0.03 21 6.28 0.14 9 LYD727 83791.1 109.7 0.03 17 13.7 0.03 17 6.36 0.06 10 LYD727 83795.2 119.1 0.07 27 14.9 0.07 27 6.51 0.02 13 LYD722 84944.3 116.2 0.27 24 14.5 0.27 24 — — — LYD722 84944.4 123.9 L 32 15.5 L 32 6.57 L 13 LYD720 83763.1 109.8 0.07 17 13.7 0.07 17 6.35 L 10 CONT. — 94.0 — — 11.7 — — 5.79 — — LYD922 83821.3 97.5 0.21 23 12.2 0.21 23 5.91 0.03 11 LYD922 83823.6 94.3 0.03 19 11.8 0.03 19 5.81 0.01 9 LYD901 83883.2 91.1 0.13 15 11.5 0.07 16 5.74 0.02 8 LYD901 83886.6 93.9 0.04 19 11.7 0.04 19 5.72 0.09 8 LYD883 83911.3 — — — — — — 5.47 0.29 3 LYD883 83912.2 91.2 0.05 15 11.4 0.05 15 5.70 0.05 7 LYD883 83912.3 103.9 L 31 13.0 L 31 6.03 0.01 14 LYD860 83625.4 93.8 0.05 19 11.7 0.05 19 5.81 0.09 9 LYD836 83514.4 99.3 0.30 26 12.4 0.30 26 5.88 0.24 11 LYD836 83515.5 88.7 0.23 12 11.1 0.23 12 5.55 0.28 5 LYD833 83512.2 86.9 0.16 10 10.9 0.16 10 5.56 0.12 5 LYD833 83513.5 94.1 0.03 19 11.8 0.03 19 5.79 0.01 9 LYD811 83713.4 — — — — — — 5.53 0.18 4 LYD755 84032.1 87.0 0.18 10 10.9 0.18 10 5.49 0.28 3 LYD755 84035.1 97.0 0.01 23 12.1 0.01 23 5.80 0.01 9 LYD755 84035.2 93.6 0.14 18 11.7 0.14 18 5.67 0.09 7 LYD742 83467.3 — — — — — — 5.56 0.27 5 LYD725 84190.3 96.3 0.03 22 12.0 0.03 22 5.83 0.02 10 LYD725 84191.1 94.6 0.02 20 11.8 0.02 20 5.70 0.23 7 LYD725 84191.2 85.9 0.29 9 10.7 0.29 9 5.68 0.25 7 CONT. — 79.1 — — 9.89 — — 5.31 — — LYD925 85844.1 104.1 0.09 30 13.0 0.09 30 6.17 0.18 14 LYD925 85844.3 89.2 0.21 11 11.2 0.21 11 5.74 0.16 6 LYD920 83760.3 88.3 0.19 10 11.0 0.19 10 5.65 0.28 4 LYD869_H1 85982.5 88.2 0.18 10 11.0 0.18 10 5.95 0.04 10 LYD869_H1 85983.1 101.4 0.19 27 12.7 0.19 27 6.17 0.10 14 LYD854 84993.2 91.0 0.09 14 11.4 0.09 14 5.90 0.08 9 LYD826 85587.1 99.6 0.08 24 12.5 0.08 24 6.08 0.02 12 LYD826 85587.5 91.4 0.15 14 11.4 0.15 14 — — — LYD824 83903.3 107.2 0.10 34 13.4 0.10 34 6.50 0.15 20 LYD824 83905.3 106.6 L 33 13.3 L 33 6.33 0.04 17 LYD824 83907.2 94.5 0.06 18 11.8 0.06 18 5.83 0.08 8 LYD824 83907.6 89.3 0.16 12 11.2 0.16 12 — — — LYD816 85591.1 118.1 L 47 14.8 L 47 6.89 0.04 27 LYD816 85594.2 93.1 0.16 16 11.6 0.16 16 5.90 0.13 9 LYD791 85129.4 103.3 0.07 29 12.9 0.07 29 6.10 0.19 13 LYD791 85129.5 100.0 L 25 13.4 0.06 34 6.45 0.02 19 LYD790 84574.2 124.0 L 55 15.5 L 55 6.83 L 26 LYD778 85053.3 93.6 0.05 17 11.7 0.05 17 5.87 0.07 8 LYD774 83938.4 96.8 0.04 21 12.1 0.04 21 5.96 0.07 10 LYD774 83940.2 102.3 L 28 12.8 L 28 6.04 0.02 12 LYD769 84121.5 — — — — — — 6.28 0.23 16 LYD769 84123.1 106.0 L 32 13.2 L 32 6.12 0.08 13 LYD769 84123.3 106.1 0.06 32 13.3 0.06 32 6.19 0.17 14 LYD756 85067.2 95.5 0.10 19 11.9 0.10 19 — — — LYD756 85069.8 94.8 0.27 18 11.9 0.27 18 — — — LYD752 85046.5 — — — — — — 5.71 0.23 5 LYD752 85049.1 102.7 0.16 28 12.8 0.16 28 6.19 0.24 14 CONT. — 80.0 — — 10.0 — — 5.41 — — LYD905 84146.3 112.0 0.18 14 14.0 0.18 14 6.15 0.25 3 LYD838 83997.1 — — — — — — 6.12 0.28 3 LYD835 84141.3 — — — — — — 6.34 0.23 6 LYD767 83485.1 110.1 0.08 12 13.8 0.08 12 6.20 0.14 4 LYD767 83488.1 111.0 0.06 13 13.9 0.06 13 6.43 0.05 8 LYD726 84593.1 — — — — — — 6.22 0.24 4 LYD725 84189.3 107.3 0.16 9 13.4 0.16 9 — — — CONT. — 98.5 — — 12.3 — — 5.95 LYD874 85658.1 83.5 0.29 8 10.4 0.29 8 — — — LYD834 84452.4 — — — — — — 5.65 0.29 6 LYD829 85058.4 87.6 0.13 13 11.0 0.13 13 5.62 0.22 5 LYD829 85058.8 86.8 0.21 12 10.8 0.21 12 — — — LYD806 85557.1 111.4 0.05 44 13.9 0.05 44 6.35 L 19 LYD806 85557.17 84.7 0.26 10 10.6 0.26 10 5.69 0.25 7 LYD798 84533.1 89.8 0.07 16 11.2 0.07 16 5.66 0.15 6 LYD798 84533.4 98.6 0.01 28 12.3 0.01 28 6.08 0.18 14 LYD765 85811.2 89.0 0.24 15 11.1 0.24 15 5.71 0.12 7 LYD762 85112.5 96.9 0.01 25 12.1 0.01 25 6.02 0.01 13 LYD762 85114.3 102.8 0.05 33 12.8 0.05 33 6.29 L 18 LYD754 85597.1 87.0 0.12 13 10.9 0.12 13 — — — LYD754 85597.2 98.0 L 27 12.2 L 27 5.99 0.02 12 LYD749 84423.6 — — — — — — 5.86 0.15 10 LYD711 85315.1 89.3 0.23 16 11.2 0.23 16 5.71 0.11 7 LYD711 85316.5 106.0 0.22 37 13.3 0.22 37 6.21 0.20 16 CONT. — 77.3 — — 9.66 — — 5.34 — — LYD925 85840.1 54.6 0.04 13 6.83 0.04 13 4.43 L 7 LYD925 85844.1 57.6 0.01 19 7.20 0.01 19 4.67 L 13 LYD924 86506.1 — — — — — — 4.27 0.26 3 LYD924 86506.5 54.3 0.07 12 6.79 0.07 12 4.44 0.11 8 LYD924 86507.1 60.7 0.08 26 7.59 0.08 26 4.82 L 17 LYD884 84576.1 54.2 0.04 12 6.77 0.04 12 4.45 L 8 LYD884 84579.2 — — — — — — 4.46 0.05 8 LYD879 85963.1 63.3 0.21 31 7.91 0.21 31 4.60 0.23 11 LYD879 85964.1 — — — — — — 4.32 0.18 5 LYD878 84487.1 53.6 0.11 11 6.70 0.11 11 — — — LYD878 84488.5 57.4 L 19 7.17 L 19 4.57 0.10 11 LYD878 84488.8 57.5 0.28 19 7.19 0.28 19 — — — LYD834 84452.3 60.6 L 26 7.58 L 26 4.75 L 15 LYD834 84452.4 57.4 0.18 19 7.17 0.18 19 4.57 0.28 11 LYD829 85058.3 62.2 0.23 29 7.77 0.23 29 — — — LYD829 85058.4 54.0 0.05 12 6.75 0.05 12 4.28 0.12 4 LYD829 85059.2 63.1 L 31 7.89 L 31 4.77 L 15 LYD829 85059.3 55.5 0.01 15 6.94 0.01 15 4.41 0.01 7 LYD813 83725.1 57.3 0.09 19 7.17 0.09 19 4.54 0.12 10 LYD813 83725.2 56.8 0.06 18 7.10 0.06 18 4.41 0.08 7 LYD813 83726.4 52.6 0.22 9 6.58 0.22 9 — — — LYD804 84134.1 62.3 0.04 29 7.79 0.04 29 4.59 0.12 11 LYD798 84533.1 53.4 0.05 10 6.67 0.05 10 4.36 0.05 6 LYD798 84533.3 57.2 L 18 7.15 L 18 4.49 0.02 9 LYD798 84533.5 — — — — — — 4.31 0.23 4 LYD798 84533.6 58.7 L 21 7.33 L 21 4.48 L 8 LYD784 84605.1 52.1 0.13 8 6.52 0.13 8 4.34 0.05 5 LYD780 86514.2 59.8 0.24 24 7.48 0.24 24 — — — LYD757 83470.5 59.5 0.27 23 7.43 0.27 23 4.67 0.11 13 LYD757 83472.1 52.2 0.12 8 6.53 0.12 8 4.45 L 8 LYD757 83473.4 59.2 L 23 7.40 L 23 4.40 0.02 7 LYD754 85597.1 67.7 0.16 40 8.46 0.16 40 4.93 0.11 19 LYD754 85597.2 60.3 L 25 7.54 L 25 4.59 L 11 LYD754 85598.1 51.5 0.17 7 6.44 0.17 7 4.40 0.09 7 LYD751 85720.2 — — — 6.53 0.11 8 4.45 0.21 8 LYD751 85720.3 63.7 0.07 32 7.96 0.07 32 4.69 0.01 13 LYD751 85722.1 58.1 L 20 7.27 L 20 4.46 L 8 LYD751 85722.2 56.6 0.07 17 7.08 0.07 17 4.39 0.19 6 LYD751 85724.1 53.2 0.05 10 6.66 0.05 10 — — — LYD722 84941.1 53.8 0.16 11 6.73 0.16 11 4.36 0.18 6 LYD722 84941.2 57.8 0.19 20 7.23 0.19 20 4.43 0.09 7 LYD722 84945.1 53.9 0.04 12 6.73 0.04 12 4.35 0.04 5 LYD714 84071.1 54.0 0.03 12 6.75 0.03 12 4.45 0.08 8 LYD714 84074.2 53.9 0.23 12 6.74 0.23 12 — — — LYD702 84412.2 52.2 0.15 8 6.53 0.15 8 4.34 0.04 5 LYD702 84412.3 60.6 0.10 25 7.57 0.10 25 4.49 0.11 9 LYD702 84412.6 55.2 0.02 14 6.90 0.02 14 4.38 0.02 6 CONT. — 48.3 — — 6.04 — — 4.13 — — LGP49 77652.6 80.4 0.09 16 10.0 0.09 16 5.17 0.27 5 CONT. — 69.2 — — 8.65 — — 4.94 — — LGP25 75389.4 — — — — — — 5.72 0.12 5 LGP25 75390.4 92.5 0.28 5 11.6 0.28 5 5.67 0.10 4 CONT. — 88.4 — — 11.1 — — 5.43 — — LGP44 75764.8 68.2 0.06 9 8.53 0.06 9 4.75 0.06 3 LGP10 75385.3 68.6 0.29 9 8.57 0.29 9 4.81 0.21 5 CONT. — 62.8 — — 7.85 — — 4.60 — — LGP20 76941.5 110.1 0.08 20 13.8 0.08 20 6.24 0.11 12 CONT. — 91.9 — — 11.5 — — 5.59 — — LYD845 83399.3 — — — — — — 6.06 0.36 5 CONT. — — — — — — — 5.79 — — LYD851 85197.1 60.4 0.41 4 7.55 0.41 4 — — — CONT. — 57.9 — — 7.23 — — — — — LYD803 85074.1 — — — — — — 5.18 0.39 9 LYD803 87327.1 — — — — — — 5.10 0.45 7 LYD803 87331.3 59.6 0.10 13 7.45 0.10 13 5.04 0.23 6 CONT. — 52.6 — — 6.57 — — 4.76 — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 180 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter RGR Of Leaf RGR Of Plot RGR Of Rosette Number Coverage Diameter P- % P- % P- % Gene Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LYD869_H1 85983.1 — — — 9.38 0.03 32 0.438 0.06 17 LYD859 83953.3 — — — — — — 0.416 0.20 11 LYD859 83957.5 0.686 0.26 21 8.67 0.14 22 — — — LYD853 86496.1 — — — 8.33 0.23 17 — — — LYD853 86497.7 — — — 8.68 0.13 22 — — — LYD826 85587.2 0.685 0.27 21 8.56 0.16 20 0.411 0.27 10 LYD750 84966.3 — — — 8.69 0.14 22 0.426 0.15 14 LYD744 86509.4 — — — — — — 0.411 0.27 10 LYD699 85972.6 — — — 8.22 0.27 16 — — — CONT. — 0.566 — — 7.12 — — 0.374 — — LYD908 84445.1 — — — 10.5   0.08 32 0.522 0.18 14 LYD908 84446.1 — — — 9.62 0.23 21 — — — LYD908 84447.1 0.822 0.16 28 11.9   0.01 50 0.531 0.12 16 LYD908 84447.4 — — — 11.7   0.01 48 0.550 0.06 20 LYD876 83416.3 0.786 0.27 23 10.9   0.05 37 — — — LYD876 83417.3 — — — 10.0   0.15 27 — — — LYD876 83417.6 0.798 0.24 25 — — — — — — LYD876 83418.2 — — — 9.49 0.28 20 — — — LYD865 83730.1 0.800 0.22 25 10.5   0.09 32 — — — LYD865 83733.5 — — — 10.9   0.06 37 — — — LYD864 83406.2 — — — 9.78 0.23 23 — — — LYD864 83406.4 — — — 9.54 0.26 20 — — — LYD864 83409.2 0.797 0.23 24 10.1   0.16 27 — — — LYD864 83409.3 — — — 11.9   0.01 51 0.537 0.10 17 LYD843 83772.1 — — — 10.6   0.08 33 0.530 0.13 16 LYD843 83774.1 — — — 9.79 0.21 23 — — — LYD843 83775.2 0.810 0.20 27 11.8   0.02 48 0.528 0.16 15 LYD843 83775.4 — — — 10.3   0.11 29 — — — LYD842 83528.2 0.813 0.20 27 9.85 0.19 24 — — — LYD835 84139.1 0.796 0.24 24 9.93 0.17 25 — — — LYD835 84141.3 — — — 9.75 0.20 23 — — — LYD835 84143.1 0.790 0.26 23 — — — — — — LYD835 84143.2 — — — 10.6   0.07 34 0.516 0.22 13 LYD821 84053.3 0.932 0.02 46 12.3   L 55 0.542 0.08 18 LYD821 84054.1 0.800 0.20 25 11.1   0.04 39 — — — LYD821 84054.4 0.787 0.27 23 9.48 0.28 19 — — — LYD793 83499.7 0.813 0.19 27 10.7   0.08 35 — — — LYD793 83500.4 0.801 0.20 25 10.5   0.08 33 — — — LYD777 83489.3 — — — 9.86 0.18 24 — — — LYD777 83492.3 — — — 9.75 0.21 23 — — — LYD777 83492.4 — — — 9.44 0.29 19 — — — LYD777 83493.3 — — — 10.8   0.06 36 — — — LYD767 83485.1 — — — 11.3   0.03 43 0.520 0.20 13 LYD767 83486.2 0.775 0.28 21 10.5   0.08 32 0.509 0.28 11 LYD767 83488.1 — — — 9.70 0.22 22 — — — LYD767 83488.5 0.780 0.27 22 9.76 0.20 23 — — — LYD753 83916.1 — — — 10.2   0.12 29 0.509 0.28 11 LYD753 83917.6 0.885 0.06 38 12.3   L 54 0.531 0.12 16 LYD735 84168.2 — — — 10.4   0.09 31 0.510 0.26 11 LYD730 84258.1 0.895 0.05 40 10.7   0.06 35 0.529 0.14 15 LYD729 84159.1 — — — 10.6   0.09 34 0.513 0.27 12 LYD729 84159.4 — — — 10.1   0.14 27 — — — LYD729 84159.6 — — — 10.3   0.10 30 — — — LYD729 84160.3 — — — 10.7   0.07 34 — — — LYD726 84591.1 0.776 0.28 21 12.3   L 55 0.532 0.12 16 LYD726 84593.1 0.815 0.17 27 12.1   L 52 0.549 0.05 20 LYD726 84595.1 — — — 10.6   0.07 34 0.520 0.20 14 LYD726 84595.2 0.801 0.25 25 — — — — — — LYD726 84595.3 — — — 9.52 0.29 20 — — — LYD720 83763.1 0.770 0.30 20 11.7   0.01 48 0.525 0.16 15 LYD720 83764.2 — — — 10.7   0.06 35 — — — LYD720 83764.3 0.814 0.18 27 10.5   0.08 32 0.518 0.21 13 LYD705 83384.4 — — — 9.45 0.28 19 — — — CONT. — 0.640 — — 7.94 — — 0.458 — — LGP43 76951.2 0.758 0.17 10 — — — — — — LGP43 76953.5 0.735 0.08 7 — — — — — — LGP43 76955.1 0.733 0.20 7 — — — — — — LGP43 76955.2 0.756 0.28 10 8.69 0.17  8 0.375 0.14  5 CONT. — 0.687 — — 8.07 — — 0.357 — — LYD914 84179.2 — — — 14.8   0.05 29 0.578 0.15 15 LYD914 84183.6 — — — 14.9   0.05 30 0.611 0.04 21 LYD901 83883.3 — — — 13.5   0.26 17 0.568 0.24 13 LYD892 84250.7 — — — 16.2   0.01 41 0.583 0.13 16 LYD876 83418.3 — — — 14.0   0.14 21 0.588 0.11 17 LYD864 83409.4 — — — 14.9   0.05 30 0.583 0.13 16 LYD843 83772.1 — — — 13.5   0.26 17 — — — LYD843 83775.2 — — — 14.6   0.12 27 0.567 0.30 12 LYD842 83526.5 — — — 14.0   0.13 22 0.566 0.23 12 LYD755 84033.1 — — — 13.9   0.18 21 — — — LYD753 83917.2 — — — 14.9   0.05 30 0.590 0.12 17 LYD739 83386.2 — — — — — — 0.569 0.26 13 LYD735 84165.1 — — — 13.9   0.16 21 0.563 0.25 12 LYD727 83791.1 — — — 13.6   0.21 18 — — — LYD727 83793.2 0.787 0.25 15 — — — — — — LYD727 83795.2 — — — 14.7   0.06 28 0.568 0.22 13 LYD722 84944.3 — — — 14.6   0.08 27 0.574 0.22 14 LYD722 84944.4 — — — 15.4   0.02 34 0.574 0.17 14 LYD720 83761.3 — — — 13.8   0.19 20 0.563 0.28 12 LYD720 83763.1 — — — 13.5   0.25 17 0.561 0.27 11 CONT. — 0.682 — — 11.5   — — 0.504 — — LGP25 75388.1 0.755 0.23 7 — — — — — — LGP1 76249.3 0.758 0.18 7 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.707 — — — — — — — — LYD922 83821.3 — — — 12.9   0.19 24 0.573 0.18 14 LYD922 83823.6 — — — 12.5   0.26 20 — — — LYD905 84145.3 — — — 12.9   0.20 23 — — — LYD905 84147.2 0.884 0.27 19 — — — — — — LYD901 83886.6 — — — 12.4   0.28 19 — — — LYD883 83912.2 0.880 0.29 18 — — — — — — LYD883 83912.3 — — — 13.7   0.09 31 0.558 0.29 11 LYD860 83625.4 0.950 0.10 28 12.4   0.28 19 — — — LYD836 83514.4 0.885 0.25 19 13.2   0.15 26 0.567 0.23 13 LYD833 83513.5 0.876 0.28 18 12.5   0.26 20 — — — LYD811 83711.2 0.897 0.24 20 — — — — — — LYD755 84035.1 — — — 12.8   0.20 23 — — — LYD755 84035.2 0.969 0.06 30 12.4   0.28 19 — — — LYD739 83386.2 0.933 0.13 25 — — — — — — LYD725 84190.3 — — — 12.7   0.22 22 0.563 0.23 12 LYD725 84191.1 — — — 12.5   0.27 19 — — — LYD704 83785.7 0.877 0.29 18 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.745 — — 10.4   — — 0.502 — — LYD925 85844.1 — — — 13.9   0.09 30 0.607 0.17 16 LYD897 84444.13 — — — 12.8   0.26 20 0.592 0.28 13 LYD897 84444.4 0.817 0.23 16 — — — — — — LYD897 84444.6 0.853 0.14 21 13.2   0.20 23 0.610 0.18 17 LYD869_H1 85983.1 — — — 13.6   0.13 27 0.623 0.10 19 LYD854 84992.3 0.841 0.16 20 — — — — — — LYD826 85587.1 0.881 0.07 25 13.3   0.15 25 0.606 0.16 16 LYD824 83903.3 — — — 14.3   0.06 34 0.659 0.03 26 LYD824 83905.3 — — — 14.2   0.06 33 0.611 0.14 17 LYD824 83907.6 0.849 0.14 21 — — — — — — LYD816 85591.1 — — — 15.8   L 48 0.695 L 33 LYD816 85594.2 0.897 0.06 28 — — — — — — LYD814 84971.2 0.802 0.29 14 — — — — — — LYD814 84973.6 0.852 0.12 21 — — — — — — LYD791 85129.4 0.874 0.09 24 13.8   0.10 29 0.608 0.16 16 LYD791 85129.5 — — — 13.3   0.15 25 0.637 0.06 22 LYD790 84574.2 0.839 0.15 19 16.6   L 55 0.675 0.01 29 LYD774 83938.4 — — — 12.9   0.22 21 — — — LYD774 83940.2 — — — 13.6   0.11 27 — — — LYD769 84121.5 — — — 13.7   0.11 28 0.606 0.18 16 LYD769 84123.1 — — — 14.2   0.06 33 0.598 0.21 14 LYD769 84123.3 — — — 14.2   0.07 33 0.618 0.12 18 LYD756 85067.2 — — — 12.7   0.27 19 — — — LYD756 85069.8 — — — 12.6   0.29 18 — — — LYD752 85049.1 — — — 13.7   0.10 28 0.610 0.15 17 LYD741 84429.4 0.804 0.30 14 — — — — — — LYD702 84412.3 — — — 12.9   0.25 21 0.593 0.30 13 CONT. — 0.703 — — 10.7   — — 0.523 — — LYD809 83507.2 0.735 0.18 22 — — — — — — LYD726 84595.3 0.730 0.19 21 — — — — — — LYD701 84068.1 0.713 0.27 19 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.602 — — — — — — — — LYD874 85656.1 0.786 0.28 18 — — — — — — LYD834 84452.1 — — — 12.1   0.30 18 — — — LYD829 85058.4 0.789 0.28 19 — — — — — — LYD829 85058.8 0.797 0.27 20 — — — — — — LYD806 85557.1 — — — 14.8   0.01 45 0.617 0.06 22 LYD798 84533.4 — — — 13.1   0.10 29 0.604 0.09 19 LYD765 85811.2 0.825 0.17 24 — — — — — — LYD762 85112.5 0.865 0.08 30 12.8   0.13 26 0.585 0.16 16 LYD762 85114.3 — — — 13.7   0.05 34 0.605 0.08 19 LYD762 85114.4 0.812 0.24 22 12.6   0.20 24 0.575 0.29 13 LYD754 85597.2 — — — 13.0   0.11 27 0.570 0.26 12 LYD751 85720.3 0.813 0.19 23 — — — — — — LYD749 84423.6 — — — — — — 0.609 0.09 20 LYD711 85315.1 0.824 0.17 24 — — — — — — LYD711 85316.5 0.790 0.28 19 14.1   0.04 38 0.617 0.06 22 CONT. — 0.664 — — 10.2   — — 0.507 — — LYD925 85840.1 0.659 0.27 23 6.98 0.30 15 0.401 0.10 17 LYD925 85844.1 — — — 7.38 0.14 21 0.414 0.06 21 LYD924 86507.1 — — — 7.60 0.09 25 0.407 0.09 18 LYD884 84579.2 — — — — — — 0.383 0.27 11 LYD879 85963.1 — — — 7.95 0.05 31 0.383 0.28 11 LYD878 84488.5 — — — 7.28 0.17 20 0.389 0.21 13 LYD878 84488.8 — — — 7.23 0.20 19 — — — LYD834 84452.3 — — — 7.62 0.09 25 0.401 0.11 17 LYD834 84452.4 — — — 7.32 0.16 20 0.394 0.17 15 LYD829 85058.3 — — — 7.82 0.06 29 0.398 0.16 16 LYD829 85059.2 — — — 8.02 0.03 32 0.401 0.11 17 LYD829 85059.3 — — — 6.99 0.29 15 — — — LYD813 83725.1 — — — 7.25 0.18 19 — — — LYD813 83725.2 — — — 7.16 0.22 18 — — — LYD804 84134.1 — — — 7.84 0.05 29 0.381 0.29 11 LYD804 84138.5 — — — 7.32 0.18 20 0.386 0.25 12 LYD798 84533.3 — — — 7.26 0.18 19 — — — LYD798 84533.5 — — — — — — 0.393 0.17 14 LYD798 84533.6 — — — 7.42 0.13 22 — — — LYD784 86519.3 — — — 8.08 0.05 33 0.394 0.27 15 LYD780 86514.2 — — — 7.61 0.09 25 — — — LYD757 83470.5 — — — 7.59 0.10 25 0.399 0.13 16 LYD757 83473.4 — — — 7.59 0.09 25 — — — LYD754 85597.1 — — — 8.60 0.01 41 0.409 0.09 19 LYD754 85597.2 — — — 7.59 0.09 25 — — — LYD754 85598.1 — — — — — — 0.380 0.30 11 LYD751 85720.2 — — — — — — 0.388 0.23 13 LYD751 85720.3 — — — 8.07 0.03 33 0.397 0.13 16 LYD751 85722.1 — — — 7.30 0.16 20 — — — LYD751 85722.2 — — — 7.15 0.22 17 — — — LYD751 85724.1 0.676 0.21 26 — — — — — — LYD722 84941.2 — — — 7.25 0.18 19 — — — LYD722 84945.1 0.655 0.25 22 — — — — — — LYD702 84412.3 — — — 7.61 0.08 25 — — — CONT. — 0.536 — — 6.09 — — 0.344 — — LGP49 77651.3 0.746 0.20 16 — — — — — — LGP49 77651.4 0.727 0.22 13 — — — — — — LGP49 77651.8 0.795 0.02 24 — — — — — — LGP49 77652.6 — — — 9.15 0.07 19 — — — LGP49 77652.8 0.755 0.11 18 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.642 — — 7.71 — — — — — LGP25 75389.4 — — — — — — 0.449 0.13 10 LGP25 75390.4 — — — — — — 0.444 0.12  8 LGP25 75391.4 0.766 0.15 5 — — — 0.430 0.16  5 LGP1 76250.4 — — — — — — 0.425 0.06  4 CONT. — 0.732 — — — — — — 0.409 — LGP44 75764.8 0.746 0.24 10 7.74 0.04 11 0.329 0.02  7 LGP10 75385.3 0.730 0.29 8 7.69 0.25 11 0.334 0.09  9 CONT. — 0.678 — — 6.95 — — 0.307 — — LGP8 75409.5 0.840 0.02 19 — — — — — — LGP20 76941.5 0.770 0.28 9 13.2   0.10 20 0.493 0.29 10 LGP20 76945.4 0.745 0.30 6 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.705 — — 11.0   — — 0.446 — — LYD841 85885.2 — — — — — — 0.402 0.43  7 CONT. — — — — — — — 0.374 — — LYD926 83826.2 0.765 0.41 15 — — — — — — LYD926 83830.2 0.756 0.42 14 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.664 — — — — — — — — LYD845 83397.6 — — — 13.2   0.36 15 — — — CONT. — — — — 11.5   — — — — — LYD850 86628.1 0.789 0.37 17 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.673 — — — — — — — — LYD803 85074.1 — — — — — — 0.582 0.26 15 LYD803 87331.3 — — — 9.47 0.31 17 0.563 0.36 12 CONT. — — — — 8.11 — — 0.505 — — TABLE 180. “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr. = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

Example 28 Evaluating Transgenic Arabidopsis Under Normal Conditions Using Seedling Analyses of T2 and T1 Plants

Surface sterilized seeds were sown in basal media [50% Murashige-Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with 0.8% plant agar as solidifying agent] in the presence of Kanamycin (used as a selecting agent). After sowing, plates were transferred for 2-3 days for stratification at 4° C. and then grown at 25° C. under 12-hour light 12-hour dark daily cycles for 7 to 10 days. At this time point, seedlings randomly chosen were carefully transferred to plates containing ½ MS media (15 mM N, normal conditions). For experiments performed in T2 lines, each plate contained 5 seedlings of the same transgenic event, and 3-4 different plates (replicates) for each event. For each polynucleotide of the invention at least four-five independent transformation events were analyzed from each construct. For experiments performed in T₁ lines, each plate contained 5 seedlings of 5 independent transgenic events and 3-4 different plates (replicates) were planted. In total, for T₁ lines, 20 independent events were evaluated. Plants expressing the polynucleotides of the invention were compared to the average measurement of the control plants (empty vector or GUS reporter gene under the same promoter) used in the same experiment.

Digital imaging—A laboratory image acquisition system, which consists of a digital reflex camera (Canon EOS 300D) attached with a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-S series), mounted on a reproduction device (Kaiser RS), which includes 4 light units (4×150 Watts light bulb) and located in a darkroom, was used for capturing images of plantlets sawn in agar plates.

The image capturing process was repeated every 3-4 days starting at day 1 till day 10 (see for example the images in FIGS. 3A-3F). An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.39 [Java based image processing program which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Seedling analysis—Using the digital analysis seedling data was calculated, including leaf area, root coverage and root length.

The relative growth rate for the various seedling parameters was calculated according to the following Formulas XIII (RGR leaf area, above), XXVIII (RGR root coverage, described above) and VI (RGR root length, below).

At the end of the experiment, plantlets were removed from the media and weighed for the determination of plant fresh weight. Plantlets were then dried for 24 hours at 60° C., and weighed again to measure plant dry weight for later statistical analysis. The fresh and dry weights were provided for each Arabidopsis plant. Growth rate was determined by comparing the leaf area coverage, root coverage and root length, between each couple of sequential photographs, and results were used to resolve the effect of the gene introduced on plant vigor under optimal conditions. Similarly, the effect of the gene introduced on biomass accumulation, under optimal conditions, was determined by comparing the plants' fresh and dry weight to that of control plants (containing an empty vector or the GUS reporter gene under the same promoter). From every construct created, 3-5 independent transformation events were examined in replicates.

Statistical analyses—To identify genes conferring significantly improved plant vigor or enlarged root architecture, the results obtained from the transgenic plants were compared to those obtained from control plants. To identify outperforming genes and constructs, results from the independent transformation events tested were analyzed separately. To evaluate the effect of a gene event over a control the data was analyzed by Student's t-test and the p value was calculated. Results were considered significant if p≤0.1. The JMP statistics software package was used (Version 5.2.1, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C., USA).

Experimental Results:

Tables 181-183 summarize the observed phenotypes of transgenic plants expressing the gene constructs using the TC -T2 assays [tissue culture (TC), T2 plants, seedling (plantlets) analyses].

The genes presented in Table 181 showed a significant improvement as they produced larger plant biomass (plant fresh and dry weight) in T2 generation when grown under normal growth conditions, compared to control plants. The genes were cloned under the regulation of a constitutive promoter (At6669, SEQ ID NO: 15751). The evaluation of each gene was carried out by testing the performance of different number of events. Some of the genes were evaluated in more than one tissue culture assay. The results obtained in these second experiments were significantly positive as well.

TABLE 181 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Dry Weight [mg] Fresh Weight [mg] Gene Name Event # Ave. P-Val. % Incr. Ave. P-Val. % Incr. LYD921 87628.1 6.68 0.06 58 124.9 0.15 50 LYD918 85320.1 4.95 0.10 17 94.2 0.11 13 LYD918 85321.2 7.52 0.02 78 133.2 0.03 60 LYD890 87185.1 4.65 0.20 10 — — — LYD890 87189.1 — — — 97.6 0.10 17 LYD890 87190.2 4.83 0.09 14 101.7 L 22 LYD880 85204.3 4.70 0.28 11 — — — LYD873 83410.3 5.15 0.23 22 — — — LYD873 83410.6 5.12 0.25 21 — — — LYD873 83414.1 5.88 0.04 39 100.0 0.11 20 LYD855 84609.3 10.4 0.02 147 185.8 0.02 123 LYD855 84609.4 8.97 0.15 112 148.3 0.15 78 LYD855 84610.2 8.65 L 104 125.5 L 51 LYD855 86525.2 4.80 0.28 13 — — — LYD837 83392.1 4.95 0.07 17 98.2 0.17 18 LYD815 84416.1 5.50 0.08 30 100.0 0.08 20 LYD815 84416.3 6.83 0.03 61 124.9 0.04 50 LYD815 84417.1 5.03 0.15 19 96.4 0.25 16 LYD796 87620.6 5.38 0.04 27 100.8 0.02 21 LYD796 87623.3 5.28 0.14 24 97.9 0.03 18 LYD771 85463.1 5.65 0.03 33 108.6 0.06 30 LYD771 85463.2 — — — 99.4 0.16 19 LYD771 85463.3 8.50 L 101 155.5 0.01 87 LYD771 85463.4 5.70 0.13 35 102.2 0.29 23 CONT. — 4.24 — — 83.3 — — MGP5 84025.4 5.60 0.18 19 — — — MGP4 84018.3 6.10 L 30 106.0 0.11 23 MGP14 85217.2 6.00 0.11 28 105.8 0.09 23 MGP13 84007.2 5.77 0.11 23 95.1 0.12 11 MGP13 84007.5 7.07 L 51 113.2 0.01 32 MGP13 84010.3 5.88 0.06 25 104.0 L 21 MGP12 84001.1 — — — 96.8 0.08 13 MGP12 84005.1 5.33 0.22 14 95.3 0.21 11 MGP1 84554.2 6.10 L 30 111.8 0.16 30 CONT. — 4.69 — — 85.9 — — LYD887 84746.1 7.35 0.01 74 131.7 0.02 59 LYD868 86633.2 6.42 0.05 53 131.2 0.07 58 LYD868 86673.2 4.53 0.28 7 86.8 0.29 5 LYD861 85566.3 5.10 0.05 21 94.5 0.10 14 LYD861 85568.1 5.00 0.07 19 97.8 0.13 18 LYD861 85568.6 4.72 0.15 12 93.1 0.03 12 LYD818 87321.4 5.38 0.30 28 107.7 0.30 30 LYD818 87323.2 5.15 0.18 22 101.7 0.14 23 LYD817 86926.3 9.48 L 125 157.5 L 90 LYD817 86927.1 5.15 0.07 22 — — — LYD773 87162.2 5.77 0.05 37 102.5 0.14 24 LYD773 87165.4 6.90 L 64 136.6 L 65 LYD768 87156.1 5.20 0.06 23 105.8 0.02 27 LYD768 87160.4 4.68 0.29 11 95.7 0.04 15 LYD721 87318.4 5.58 0.16 32 101.0 0.22 22 CONT. — 4.21 — — 83.0 — — MGP9 87204.2 7.28 L 74 131.4 L 54 MGP9 87205.3 5.45 0.15 31 — — — MGP9 87206.1 5.12 0.23 23 101.3 0.25 19 MGP9 87208.1 5.20 0.18 25 100.7 0.25 18 CONT. — 4.17 — — 85.4 — — LGP85 85845.1 4.42 0.04 46 83.5 0.01 76 LGP85 85846.1 4.38 0.06 45 — — — LGP85 85846.3 4.95 0.05 64 100.3 L 112 LGP85 85846.5 5.38 L 78 120.1 L 154 LGP85 85849.1 4.45 L 47 — — — LGP105 85298.2 6.12 L 102 — — — LGP105 85298.3 4.38 L 45 95.3 L 101 LGP105 85298.4 5.42 L 79 98.7 L 108 LGP105 85298.5 5.17 L 71 105.3 L 122 LGP105 85298.7 5.28 0.07 74 116.2 0.02 145 LGP102 85929.1 — — — 66.7 0.19 41 LGP102 85930.3 3.58 0.08 18 73.0 0.07 54 LGP102 85931.2 3.90 0.10 29 — — — LGP102 85933.2 5.15 0.07 70 — — — CONT. — 3.02 — — 47.3 — — LGP99 85617.3 8.18 0.13 23 162.2 0.17 27 LGP98 83620.5 — — — 146.9 0.20 15 LGP98 83620.7 8.18 0.06 23 149.7 0.14 17 LGP87 85864.1 10.0 0.01 51 195.2 0.02 53 LGP86 84346.3 9.50 L 43 175.3 L 38 LGP83 85755.1 8.30 0.26 25 — — — LGP83 85759.2 — — — 142.8 0.14 12 LGP83 85759.4 7.65 0.16 15 145.4 0.17 14 LGP110 85612.1 8.27 0.24 25 184.3 0.25 45 LGP107 84338.1 8.15 0.03 23 164.1 0.20 29 LGP106 85865.2 — — — 149.2 0.28 17 LGP106 85869.2 8.00 0.04 21 155.8 0.05 22 LGP101 85292.1 7.35 0.20 11 138.6 0.27 9 CONT. — 6.62 — — 127.4 — — MGP9 85224.1 5.88 0.08 31 113.5 0.12 40 MGP7 86141.3 5.05 0.24 13 — — — MGP7 86141.4 — — — 98.4 0.13 21 CONT. — 4.47 — — 81.1 — — LYD857 86674.1 — — — 115.3 0.17 16 LYD856 85693.2 12.5 L 118 200.1 L 101 LYD855 84609.3 12.0 0.01 108 187.0 L 88 LYD852 85819.3 — — — 118.8 0.04 19 LYD810 84436.2 9.07 0.08 58 158.7 0.06 59 LYD807 84080.1 — — — 116.3 0.20 17 LYD802 85132.1 7.70 0.05 34 133.1 0.03 34 LYD792 85553.1 7.30 0.12 27 129.4 0.04 30 LYD694 84125.1 9.20 0.04 60 157.3 0.02 58 CONT. — 5.74 — — 99.5 — — LYD907 84978.1 6.65 0.02 74 108.5 L 46 LYD906 84750.1 5.45 0.03 43 100.0 0.12 35 LYD906 84754.1 4.62 0.19 21 — — — LYD904 84498.4 5.33 L 40 103.0 L 39 LYD904 84499.2 4.90 0.06 29 88.9 0.18 20 LYD903 85544.3 4.92 0.02 29 94.1 L 27 LYD903 85544.5 4.45 0.14 17 — — — LYD902 84948.5 4.85 0.24 27 — — — LYD890 87189.1 4.25 0.25 11 80.9 0.21 9 LYD878 84487.3 5.07 L 33 97.8 L 32 LYD878 84488.8 5.17 0.14 36 95.8 0.13 29 LYD867 85535.1 5.40 L 42 106.4 0.09 43 LYD858 85796.1 4.38 0.21 15 84.4 0.09 14 LYD858 85797.1 6.22 L 63 132.1 0.02 78 LYD856 85693.2 4.60 0.03 21 90.2 0.07 21 LYD844 85192.7 4.45 0.07 17 — — — LYD825 85883.3 4.83 0.04 27 87.3 0.25 17 LYD812 85563.4 4.83 L 27 102.1 0.09 37 LYD812 85564.1 4.28 0.29 12 — — — LYD802 85132.1 5.65 L 48 — — — LYD719 85261.2 4.17 0.16 10 80.9 0.29 9 LYD718 85458.3 5.07 0.17 33 91.3 0.16 23 LYD699 85973.1 5.30 0.03 39 94.5 L 27 CONT. — 3.81 — — 74.3 — — LGP82 83662.2 4.75 0.20 18 — — — LGP81 84957.3 4.90 0.12 22 — — — LGP77 81453.2 5.70 L 42 — — — LGP75 85309.4 6.47 L 61 190.4 0.10 50 LGP74 81325.1 5.17 0.03 29 — — — LGP73 81449.1 5.38 0.01 34 — — — LGP73 81449.3 4.83 0.03 20 — — — LGP72 85854.4 5.00 0.24 24 — — — LGP71 82502.3 4.75 0.27 18 — — — CONT. — 4.03 — — 127.2 — — LGP90 85764.5 7.62 0.32 15 146.7 0.39 15 CONT. — 6.62 — — 127.4 — — Table 181. “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p<0.01.

The genes presented in Tables 182 and 183 below show a significant improvement in plant performance since they produced a larger leaf biomass (leaf area) and root biomass (root length and root coverage) (Table 182) and a higher relative growth rate of leaf area, root coverage and root length (Table 183) when grown under normal growth conditions, compared to control plants. Plants producing larger root biomass have better possibilities to absorb larger amount of nitrogen from soil. Plants producing larger leaf biomass have better ability to produce assimilates. The genes were cloned under the regulation of a constitutive promoter (At6669). The evaluation of each gene was performed by testing the performance of different number of events. Some of the genes were evaluated in more than one seedling analysis. This second experiment confirmed the significant increment in leaf and root performance. Event with p-value<0.1 was considered statistically significant.

TABLE 182 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Roots Coverage Leaf Area [cm²] [cm²] Roots Length [cm] Gene P- % P- % P- % Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. LYD921 87628.1 0.518 0.27 20 — — — — — — LYD918 85321.2 0.587 0.02 36 6.29 0.12 31 — — — LYD890 87185.1 — — — 6.32 0.05 32 6.62 0.30 11 LYD873 83410.3 — — — 5.88 0.20 23 — — — LYD873 83410.6 — — — 6.34 0.20 32 — — — LYD855 84609.3 0.598 0.03 38 — — — — — — LYD837 83390.5 — — — 6.03 0.18 26 — — — LYD837 83390.8 — — — 7.13 0.04 49 — — — LYD815 84416.3 0.561 0.06 30 6.93 0.12 45 6.75 0.20 13 LYD796 87620.6 — — — 6.14 0.05 28 — — — LYD796 87623.3 — — — 5.49 0.29 15 — — — LYD771 85463.1 0.477 0.18 10 6.10 0.07 27 — — — LYD771 85463.3 0.692 L 60 8.41 0.04 76 6.75 0.26 13 LYD771 85463.4 0.530 0.28 22 6.56 0.20 37 6.66 0.29 12 CONT. — 0.432 — — 4.79 — — 5.96 — — MGP5 84022.3 — — — 6.33 0.19 16 6.36 0.03 12 MGP5 84025.7 — — — 6.76 0.12 24 6.51 0.17 15 MGP4 84018.3 0.556 0.03 21 7.36 0.01 35 6.99 L 24 MGP4 84019.5 — — — — — — 6.29 0.18 11 MGP4 84020.2 — — — 6.23 0.24 14 6.32 0.15 12 MGP2 84014.5 — — — — — — 6.09 0.29  8 MGP14 85217.2 0.590 0.04 28 — — — — — — MGP13 84007.2 0.560 0.06 22 — — — — — — MGP13 84007.5 0.642 L 39 6.91 0.04 27 6.41 0.09 13 MGP13 84010.3 0.570 0.04 24 6.36 0.21 17 — — — MGP13 84010.4 — — — 6.18 0.20 13 6.36 0.06 12 MGP12 84001.1 — — — 6.39 0.14 17 6.81 0.04 20 MGP12 84004.4 0.551 0.15 20 7.68 0.19 41 6.83 0.01 21 MGP1 84554.2 0.544 0.04 18 6.48 0.17 19 6.32 0.06 12 CONT. — 0.461 — — 5.45 — — 5.66 — — LYD887 84745.1 0.502 0.17 12 6.53 0.19 11 — — — LYD887 84746.1 0.633 0.02 41 9.26 0.02 57 6.93 0.08 15 LYD868 86633.2 0.575 0.05 28 8.37 0.14 42 — — — LYD868 86673.1 — — — 7.24 0.29 23 — — — LYD861 85566.3 0.492 0.08 10 — — — — — — LYD861 85568.1 0.533 0.09 19 — — — — — — LYD818 87321.2 — — — 6.95 0.22 18 6.89 0.10 15 LYD818 87321.4 0.532 0.25 19 — — — — — — LYD818 87323.2 — — — 9.34 0.10 59 6.77 0.16 13 LYD817 86926.3 0.711 L 59 9.30 L 58 6.63 0.15 10 LYD817 86927.1 0.571 L 27 7.67 0.10 30 6.62 0.16 10 LYD773 87162.2 0.533 0.07 19 7.15 0.12 21 — — — LYD773 87165.4 0.673 L 50 9.77 L 66 7.30 L 21 LYD768 87156.1 0.512 0.03 14 7.12 0.14 21 — — — LYD768 87157.2 0.485 0.08  8 — — — — — — LYD768 87160.4 0.496 0.29 11 — — — — — — LYD721 87318.2 — — — 7.50 0.07 27 6.92 0.06 15 LYD721 87318.3 — — — 6.76 0.17 15 6.61 0.16 10 LYD721 87318.4 0.530 0.12 18 8.38 0.09 42 6.73 0.07 12 LYD721 87320.1 — — — — — — 6.46 0.26  7 CONT. — 0.448 — — 5.89 — — 6.01 — — MGP9 87204.2 0.596 L 38 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.433 — — — — — — — — LGP85 85845.1 0.402 0.03 35 6.85 0.02 45 — — — LGP85 85846.1 0.414 0.03 39 5.65 0.14 19 — — — LGP85 85846.3 0.418 0.04 40 7.11 0.09 50 6.94 0.29 11 LGP85 85846.5 0.425 L 42 7.70 0.06 63 — — — LGP85 85849.1 0.378 L 27 7.39 0.02 56 6.77 0.30  9 LGP105 85298.2 0.466 L 56 7.64 L 61 6.74 0.24  8 LGP105 85298.3 0.384 L 28 7.66 L 62 — — — LGP105 85298.4 0.462 L 55 8.46 L 79 7.61 L 22 LGP105 85298.5 0.421 L 41 7.40 0.01 56 — — — LGP105 85298.7 0.420 0.03 41 5.69 0.15 20 — — — LGP102 85930.3 0.353 L 18 — — — — — — LGP102 85931.2 0.368 0.08 23 — — — — — — LGP102 85933.2 0.433 0.08 45 6.22 0.04 31 — — — LGP102 85933.3 0.343 0.04 15 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.299 — — 4.73 — — 6.23 — — LGP99 85617.3 0.679 0.04 32 — — — — — — LGP98 83620.7 0.623 0.04 21 — — — — — — LGP97 83609.1 0.581 0.12 13 — — — — — — LGP97 83611.2 — — — — — — 6.27 0.29  5 LGP95 83695.2 — — — — — — 6.68 0.26 12 LGP87 85864.1 0.692 0.01 35 — — — — — — LGP86 84346.3 0.652 0.03 27 — — — — — — LGP83 85755.1 0.687 0.13 34 — — — — — — LGP83 85759.2 0.618 0.06 20 7.98 0.03 18 6.38 0.14  7 LGP83 85759.4 0.599 0.08 17 — — — 6.85 0.01 15 LGP110 85611.1 — — — — — — 6.60 0.24 11 LGP110 85612.1 0.651 0.11 27 — — — — — — LGP107 84338.1 0.628 L 22 8.09 0.10 19 6.75 0.16 13 LGP106 85865.2 0.589 0.28 15 — — — — — — LGP106 85869.2 0.594 0.10 16 8.46 0.05 25 — — — LGP100 83691.2 — — — — — — 6.64 0.22 11 LGP100 83691.6 — — — — — — 6.43 0.16  8 LGP100 83691.8 — — — — — — 6.24 0.20  5 CONT. — 0.514 — — 6.78 — — 5.97 — — MGP9 85224.1 0.471 0.03 22 — — — — — — MGP7 86137.1 0.471 0.05 22 — — — — — — MGP7 86141.3 0.426 0.28 10 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.386 — — — — — — — — LYD918 85320.2 — — — 7.83 0.11 33 6.78 0.02 19 LYD910 85212.1 — — — 6.98 0.21 19 6.44 0.19 13 LYD880 85204.3 — — — — — — 6.10 0.14  7 LYD858 85796.1 0.561 0.21 10 7.45 L 27 6.61 0.02 16 LYD857 86635.1 — — — 7.86 0.02 33 6.63 L 16 LYD857 86674.1 — — — 8.97 L 52 7.20 L 26 LYD856 85693.2 0.976 L 91 11.3 L 91 7.23 0.01 27 LYD855 84609.3 0.784 0.01 53 9.01 0.02 53 — — — LYD852 85816.1 — — — — — — 6.00 0.14  5 LYD852 85816.2 — — — 6.67 0.13 13 6.14 0.23  8 LYD852 85819.3 0.578 0.21 13 6.94 0.19 18 6.41 0.19 12 LYD815 84416.1 — — — 6.75 0.23 15 6.89 0.02 21 LYD815 84416.2 0.643 0.14 26 — — — — — — LYD815 84416.3 — — — — — — 6.16 0.23  8 LYD810 84436.2 0.757 L 48 8.97 L 52 6.68 L 17 LYD810  84437.10 — — — — — — 5.95 0.26  4 LYD810 84437.5 — — — 8.18 L 39 6.88 0.02 21 LYD807 84078.1 0.546 0.27  7 — — — — — — LYD807 84080.1 0.654 0.05 28 8.66 L 47 6.87 L 20 LYD802 85132.1 0.709 0.14 39 — — — 6.81 0.11 19 LYD801 84618.4 — — — 8.65 0.05 47 6.90 0.11 21 LYD792 85550.1 — — — — — — 6.30 0.22 10 LYD792 85553.1 0.679 L 33 8.18 0.02 39 6.88 L 21 LYD785 84430.1 — — — 7.40 0.18 26 6.72 0.09 18 LYD785 84430.5 — — — — — — 6.07 0.21  6 LYD785 84430.6 — — — — — — 6.12 0.19  7 LYD785 84430.7 — — — 7.47 0.04 27 6.90 0.03 21 LYD782 85902.1 — — — 7.18 0.24 22 — — — LYD782 85903.1 — — — 8.10 0.03 38 6.46 0.22 13 LYD782 85904.3 — — — 6.66 0.23 13 — — — LYD771 85463.1 — — — — — — 6.56 0.10 15 LYD771 85463.3 — — — 7.53 0.06 28 6.51 0.03 14 LYD771 85463.4 0.605 0.28 18 7.50 0.19 27 6.49 0.19 14 LYD723 84940.4 — — — 8.28 0.05 41 6.88 0.07 21 LYD719 85261.3 — — — — — — 5.96 0.26  4 LYD707 85707.1 0.561 0.16 10 7.81 0.01 33 6.85 L 20 LYD694 84125.1 0.707 0.02 38 9.03 L 53 6.02 0.10  5 CONT. — 0.512 — — 5.89 — — 5.71 — — LYD921 87628.1 0.381 0.23 15 — — — — — — LYD910 87192.4 0.375 0.21 13 — — — — — — LYD907 84978.1 0.512 L 54 — — — — — — LYD906 84750.1 0.443 L 33 5.50 0.18 23 — — — LYD906 84752.3 0.418 0.22 26 — — — — — — LYD906 84754.1 0.439 0.13 32 — — — — — — LYD904 84498.4 0.467 L 40 — — — — — — LYD904 84499.2 0.453 0.04 36 5.84 0.06 30 6.58 0.03 18 LYD903 85544.3 0.441 L 33 5.46 0.15 22 — — — LYD903 85544.5 — — — 5.04 0.21 12 — — — LYD902 84948.3 0.422 L 27 — — — 6.07 0.24  9 LYD902 84948.5 0.380 0.19 14 — — — — — — LYD890 87185.1 0.363 0.18  9 — — — — — — LYD890 87189.1 0.389 0.11 17 — — — — — — LYD878 84487.3 0.419 0.02 26 5.22 0.16 17 — — — LYD878 84488.8 0.485 0.10 46 5.71 0.15 28 — — — LYD867 85535.1 0.440 0.11 32 — — — — — — LYD858 85796.1 0.414 0.02 25 — — — — — — LYD858 85797.1 0.488 L 47 5.33 0.16 19 — — — LYD856 85693.2 0.434 L 30 — — — — — — LYD844 85192.7 0.369 0.24 11 — — — — — — LYD825 85883.1 0.365 0.22 10 — — — — — — LYD825 85883.3 0.389 0.15 17 — — — — — — LYD825 85884.2 0.381 0.05 15 — — — — — — LYD812 85560.2 0.464 0.07 40 5.24 0.19 17 6.54 0.09 17 LYD812 85563.4 0.424 L 27 — — — — — — LYD812 85564.1 0.402 0.10 21 — — — — — — LYD802 85132.1 0.450 0.01 35 — — — — — — LYD792 85553.1 0.528 0.04 59 — — — — — — LYD719 87356.3 0.381 0.13 14 5.33 0.17 19 6.26 0.25 12 LYD718 85458.3 0.442 0.11 33 — — — — — — LYD707 85707.1 0.384 0.10 16 — — — — — — LYD699 85973.1 0.395 0.02 19 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.333 — — 4.48 — — 5.59 — — LGP82 83662.2 0.436 L 20 6.46 0.01 37 6.52 0.28  8 LGP82 83664.1 — — — — — — 6.94 L 14 LGP82 83666.2 — — — 6.23 L 33 7.11 L 17 LGP81 84957.3 0.446 L 23 7.46 L 59 7.44 L 23 LGP81 84957.8 0.382 0.25  5 5.41 0.11 15 6.55 0.26  8 LGP79 82510.1 — — — 5.90 L 26 — — — LGP79 82510.2 0.381 0.08  5 6.66 0.05 42 7.34 L 21 LGP79 82512.1 — — — 6.09 0.12 30 6.89 0.11 14 LGP79 82513.4 — — — 5.89 L 25 7.04 0.04 16 LGP78 82507.1 — — — 5.24 0.13 12 6.74 0.14 11 LGP78 82507.4 0.422 0.26 17 6.64 0.03 41 6.83 0.07 13 LGP78 82508.1 0.396 0.09  9 5.58 0.02 19 6.61 0.16  9 LGP77 81452.2 — — — 5.47 0.08 16 6.73 0.19 11 LGP77 81453.2 0.449 L 24 6.13 0.08 31 — — — LGP77 81453.3 — — — 5.84 0.11 24 6.72 0.11 11 LGP77 81454.1 0.435 0.11 20 6.36 0.05 35 7.01 0.05 16 LGP76 83653.1 — — — 5.35 0.18 14 — — — LGP76 83653.2 0.440 0.04 22 6.04 0.20 29 — — — LGP76 83653.3 0.457 0.15 26 6.77 0.01 44 6.82 0.17 12 LGP76 83654.1 — — — 6.48 0.16 38 — — — LGP75 85309.1 — — — — — — 7.04 L 16 LGP75 85309.4 0.507 L 40 8.43 0.01 80 7.24 L 19 LGP74 81324.2 — — — 5.59 0.23 19 — — — LGP74 81325.1 0.453 0.03 25 7.87 L 68 7.03 0.05 16 LGP74 81326.4 — — — — — — 6.43 0.19  6 LGP74 81328.1 — — — 5.43 0.09 16 6.87 L 13 LGP73 81449.1 0.495 L 37 8.11 L 73 7.78 L 28 LGP71 82500.4 0.402 0.24 11 6.89 L 47 7.38 L 22 LGP71 82502.2 — — — — — — 6.92 0.07 14 LGP71 82502.3 0.467 0.04 29 6.20 L 32 6.92 L 14 LGP71 82502.4 — — — 5.37 0.12 14 — — — CONT. — 0.362 — — 4.70 — — 6.07 — — LGP94 84352.6 0.565 0.46 10 — — — — — — LGP111 83612.3 — — — — — — 6.64 0.45 11 LGP111 83616.5 — — — — — — 6.51 0.31  9 CONT. — 0.514 — — — — — 5.97 — — LGP96 88003   0.180 L 13 — — —  0.871 0.04 15 LGP104 87557   0.159 0.07 11 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.138 — — — — —  0.593 — — Table 182. “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 183 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter RGR Of Roots RGR Of Root RGR Of Leaf Area Coverage Length Gene P- % P- % P- % Name Event # Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. Ave. Val. Incr. MGP5 84022.3 — — — 0.728 0.12 17 0.546 0.06 20 MGP5 84025.6 — — — — — — 0.537 0.13 18 MGP5 84025.7 — — — 0.786 0.03 26 0.579 0.04 27 MGP4 84018.3 0.0509 0.13 20 0.836 L 34 0.585 L 28 MGP4 84020.2 — — — 0.716 0.19 15 — — — MGP2 84014.1 — — — — — — 0.517 0.23 13 MGP2 84014.5 — — — — — — 0.538 0.10 18 MGP14 85217.2 0.0514 0.17 21 — — — — — — MGP13 84007.2 0.0543 0.06 28 — — — — — — MGP13 84007.5 0.0619 L 46 0.797 0.01 28 0.575 0.02 26 MGP13 84010.3 0.0553 0.03 30 0.748 0.10 20 0.531 0.21 16 MGP13 84010.4 — — — 0.720 0.14 15 0.541 0.08 19 MGP12 84001.1 — — — 0.744 0.08 19 0.577 0.03 26 MGP12 84004.4 0.0520 0.17 22 0.893 L 43 0.564 0.06 24 MGP12 84005.1 0.0490 0.30 15 — — — 0.575 0.07 26 MGP1 84553.1 — — — — — — 0.519 0.24 14 MGP1 84554.1 — — — — — — 0.542 0.12 19 MGP1 84554.2 0.0517 0.15 22 0.766 0.06 23 0.551 0.08 21 MGP1 84555.4 — — — — — — 0.516 0.27 13 CONT. — 0.0425 — — 0.624 — — 0.456 — — LYD887 84746.1 0.0589 L 41 1.05  L 53 — — — LYD868 86633.2 0.0521 0.02 25 0.963 0.02 40 — — — LYD868 86673.1 — — — 0.849 0.12 23 — — — LYD866 87309.5 — — — 0.780 0.30 13 — — — LYD861 85566.3 0.0457 0.23 10 — — — — — — LYD861 85568.1 0.0478 0.14 15 — — — — — — LYD818 87321.2 — — — 0.803 0.21 17 0.602 0.08 19 LYD818 87321.4 0.0494 0.16 18 — — — — — — LYD818 87323.2 — — — 1.09  L 58 — — — LYD817 86926.3 0.0684 L 64 1.05  L 53 — — — LYD817 86927.1 0.0529 L 27 0.914 0.02 33 0.580 0.13 15 LYD773 87162.2 0.0487 0.13 17 0.839 0.08 22 — — — LYD773 87165.4 0.0622 L 49 1.13  L 64 — — — LYD768 87156.1 0.0510 0.01 22 0.830 0.10 20 — — — LYD721 87318.2 — — — 0.860 0.05 25 — — — LYD721 87318.3 — — — 0.805 0.14 17 0.557 0.29 10 LYD721 87318.4 0.0509 0.04 22 0.958 0.01 39 — — — CONT. — 0.0417 — — 0.689 — — 0.505 — — MGP9 87204.2 0.0577 L 51 — — — — — — MGP9 87205.2 0.0449 0.28 18 — — — — — — MGP9 87205.3 0.0468 0.20 23 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.0381 — — — — — — — — LGP85 85845.1 0.0389 L 38 0.841 L 48 — — — LGP85 85846.1 0.0389 L 38 0.690 0.07 22 — — — LGP85 85846.3 0.0401 L 42 0.865 L 53 0.661 0.14 16 LGP85 85846.5 0.0420 L 49 0.937 L 65 — — — LGP85 85849.1 0.0366 L 30 0.895 L 58 — — — LGP105 85298.2 0.0455 L 62 0.921 L 62 — — — LGP105 85298.3 0.0366 L 30 0.935 L 65 — — — LGP105 85298.4 0.0441 L 57 1.03  L 81 0.712 L 25 LGP105 85298.5 0.0413 L 47 0.893 L 58 — — — LGP105 85298.7 0.0409 L 46 0.691 0.06 22 — — — LGP102 85930.3 0.0330 0.03 17 0.642 0.25 13 — — — LGP102 85931.2 0.0361 L 28 — — — — — — LGP102 85933.2 0.0417 L 48 0.745 0.01 31 — — — LGP102 85933.3 0.0308 0.26  9 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.0281 — — 0.567 — — 0.571 — — LGP99 85617.3 0.0641 0.04 32 0.928 0.25 14 0.639 0.09 15 LGP98 83620.7 0.0623 0.04 28 — — — — — — LGP97 83609.1 0.0561 0.23 15 — — — — — — LGP95 83695.1 — — — — — — 0.604 0.29  9 LGP95 83695.2 — — — — — — 0.632 0.14 14 LGP87 85864.1 0.0673 L 38 — — — — — — LGP86 84346.3 0.0627 0.05 29 — — — — — — LGP83 85755.1 0.0673 0.04 38 0.984 0.18 21 — — — LGP83 85759.2 0.0565 0.23 16 0.963 0.07 18 — — — LGP83 85759.4 0.0580 0.15 19 — — — 0.674 L 22 LGP110 85611.1 — — — — — — 0.636 0.08 15 LGP110 85612.1 0.0634 0.06 30 — — — — — — LGP107 84338.1 0.0598 0.07 23 0.970 0.08 19 0.625 0.11 13 LGP106 85865.2 0.0570 0.26 17 — — — — — — LGP106 85869.2 0.0578 0.15 19 1.04  0.01 27 0.609 0.19 10 LGP100 83691.2 — — — — — — 0.648 0.05 17 LGP100 83691.8 — — — — — — 0.595 0.23  7 CONT. — 0.0487 — — 0.815 — — 0.555 — — MGP9 85224.1 0.0433 0.22 17 — — — — — — MGP7 86137.1 0.0440 0.19 19 — — — — — — MGP7 86141.3 — — — 0.827 0.17 26 0.655 0.09 17 CONT. — 0.0370 — — 0.659 — — 0.558 — — LYD918 85320.2 — — — 0.924 0.03 37 0.576 0.02 23 LYD910 85212.1 — — — 0.816 0.13 21 0.531 0.21 13 LYD880 85204.3 — — — — — — 0.534 0.11 14 LYD872 85570.1 — — — — — — 0.570 0.06 22 LYD858 85796.1 — — — 0.828 0.07 23 0.521 0.23 11 LYD858 85797.1 0.0545 0.24 20 — — — — — — LYD857 86635.1 — — — 0.912 0.01 35 0.534 0.13 14 LYD857 86674.1 0.0540 0.18 19 1.03  L 53 0.579 0.04 24 LYD856 85693.2 0.0884 L 95 1.24  L 84 0.526 0.28 12 LYD855 84609.3 0.0755 L 67 1.05  L 56 — — — LYD855 84609.4 0.0539 0.22 19 — — — — — — LYD852 85819.3 — — — 0.790 0.21 17 0.522 0.26 12 LYD815 84416.1 — — — 0.783 0.23 16 0.569 0.04 22 LYD815 84416.2 0.0575 0.12 27 — — — — — — LYD815 84416.3 — — — — — — 0.527 0.17 13 LYD810 84436.2 0.0683 L 51 1.00  L 49 — — — LYD810 84437.5 0.0532 0.25 17 0.975 L 44 0.607 L 30 LYD807 84078.1 0.0514 0.28 13 — — — — — — LYD807 84080.1 0.0586 0.05 29 1.00  L 48 0.553 0.05 18 LYD802 85132.1 0.0667 0.02 47 1.05  0.07 56 0.575 0.07 23 LYD801 84618.4 — — — 1.02  L 51 0.583 0.06 25 LYD792 85550.1 — — — 0.794 0.24 18 0.555 0.07 19 LYD792 85553.1 0.0612 0.01 35 0.931 L 38 0.565 0.02 21 LYD785 84430.1 — — — 0.850 0.11 26 0.534 0.24 14 LYD785 84430.7 — — — 0.881 0.03 30 0.615 L 31 LYD782 85902.1 — — — 0.843 0.11 25 — — — LYD782 85903.1 — — — 0.935 0.01 38 — — — LYD782 85904.3 — — — 0.781 0.23 16 — — — LYD771 85463.1 — — — — — — 0.573 0.03 23 LYD771 85463.3 — — — 0.865 0.05 28 — — — LYD771 85463.4 0.0580 0.09 28 0.888 0.05 31 0.559 0.07 19 LYD723 84940.4 — — — 0.955 0.01 41 0.607 0.01 30 LYD707 85707.1 — — — 0.867 0.03 28 0.528 0.14 13 LYD694 84125.1 0.0644 L 42 1.07  L 58 0.527 0.11 13 CONT. — 0.0453 — — 0.675 — — 0.468 — — LYD907 84978.1 0.0491 L 50 — — — — — — LYD906 84750.1 0.0433 L 32 0.643 0.15 19 — — — LYD906 84754.1 0.0401 0.16 23 — — — — — — LYD904 84498.4 0.0449 L 37 — — — — — — LYD904 84499.2 0.0439 0.02 34 0.696 0.02 29 0.629 0.02 20 LYD903 85544.3 0.0429 L 31 0.646 0.13 20 — — — LYD903 85544.5 — — — 0.604 0.30 12 — — — LYD902 84948.3 0.0387 0.11 18 — — — — — — LYD890 87189.1 0.0372 0.24 14 — — — — — — LYD878 84487.3 0.0403 0.05 23 0.625 0.16 16 — — — LYD878 84488.8 0.0482 0.01 48 0.681 0.06 26 — — — LYD867 85535.1 0.0439 0.03 34 — — — — — — LYD858 85796.1 0.0420 0.02 29 — — — — — — LYD858 85797.1 0.0467 L 43 0.634 0.15 17 — — — LYD856 85693.2 0.0410 0.02 26 — — — — — — LYD825 85883.3 0.0375 0.21 15 — — — — — — LYD812 85560.2 0.0430 0.04 32 0.629 0.18 16 0.600 0.12 14 LYD812 85563.4 0.0419 0.01 28 — — — — — — LYD812 85564.1 0.0381 0.15 17 — — — — — — LYD807 87413.1 0.0392 0.18 20 — — — — — — LYD802 85132.1 0.0409 0.04 25 — — — — — — LYD792 85553.1 0.0449 0.03 37 — — — — — — LYD719 87356.3 — — — 0.647 0.12 20 0.601 0.14 14 LYD718 85458.3 0.0442 0.03 35 — — — — — — LYD699 85973.1 0.0386 0.09 18 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.0327 — — 0.541 — — 0.526 — — LGP82 83662.2 0.0413 L 19 0.783 L 41 — — — LGP82 83664.1 — — — — — — 0.660 0.02 19 LGP82 83666.2 — — — 0.708 0.01 27 0.648 0.05 17 LGP81 84957.3 0.0433 L 25 0.882 L 59 0.707 L 28 LGP81 84957.8 0.0371 0.25  7 0.651 0.09 17 0.620 0.20 12 LGP81 84958.2 — — — — — — 0.622 0.23 12 LGP79 82510.1 — — — 0.680 0.03 22 0.627 0.18 13 LGP79 82510.2 — — — 0.799 L 44 0.672 0.02 22 LGP79 82512.1 — — — 0.730 0.02 31 — — — LGP79 82513.4 — — — 0.698 0.01 26 0.616 0.22 11 LGP78 82506.1 — — — 0.624 0.26 12 0.629 0.16 14 LGP78 82507.1 — — — 0.627 0.18 13 0.635 0.11 15 LGP78 82507.4 0.0398 0.18 15 0.793 L 43 — — — LGP78 82508.1 0.0377 0.17  9 0.669 0.04 20 0.618 0.19 12 LGP77 81452.2 — — — 0.659 0.06 19 — — — LGP77 81453.2 0.0441 L 27 0.738 L 33 — — — LGP77 81453.3 — — — 0.711 0.01 28 0.643 0.08 16 LGP77 81454.1 0.0414 0.04 19 0.775 L 39 0.693 0.01 25 LGP76 83653.1 — — — 0.620 0.26 12 — — — LGP76 83653.2 0.0402 0.05 16 0.738 0.02 33 — — — LGP76 83653.3 0.0408 0.17 18 0.805 L 45 — — — LGP76 83654.1 0.0391 0.25 13 0.775 0.01 39 — — — LGP75 85309.1 — — — — — — 0.691 L 25 LGP75 85309.4 0.0524 L 51 1.02  L 83 0.686 L 24 LGP75 87225.2 — — — 0.622 0.29 12 — — — LGP74 81324.2 — — — 0.675 0.07 21 — — — LGP74 81325.1 0.0429 L 24 0.952 L 71 0.627 0.18 13 LGP74 81326.4 — — — — — — 0.612 0.22 11 LGP74 81328.1 — — — 0.654 0.07 18 0.620 0.15 12 LGP73 81449.1 0.0473 L 36 0.987 L 77 0.745 L 35 LGP71 82500.4 0.0388 0.17 12 0.830 L 49 0.680 0.01 23 LGP71 82502.2 — — — 0.648 0.23 16 0.644 0.11 17 LGP71 82502.3 0.0437 L 26 0.747 L 34 0.651 0.05 18 LGP71 82502.4 — — — 0.653 0.09 17 — — — CONT. — 0.0347 — — 0.556 — — 0.553 — — LGP94 84352.6 0.0546 0.41 12 — — — — — — LGP90 85764.1 — — — — — — 0.605 0.37  9 CONT. — 0.0487 — — — — — 0.555 — — LYD758 85109.6 0.0528 0.40 17 — — — — — — CONT. — 0.0453 — — — — — — — — Table 183. “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

Results from T1 Plants

Tables 184-186 summarize the observed phenotypes of transgenic plants expressing the gene constructs using the TC -T1 Assays (seedling analysis of T1 plants).

The genes presented in Tables 184-186 showed a significant improvement in plant biomass and root development since they produced a higher biomass (dry weight, Table 184), a larger leaf and root biomass (leaf area, root length and root coverage) (Table 185), and a higher relative growth rate of leaf area, and root coverage (Table 186) when grown under normal growth conditions, compared to control plants grown under identical growth conditions. Plants producing larger root biomass have better possibilities to absorb larger amount of nitrogen from soil. Plants producing larger leaf biomass have better ability to produce assimilates. The genes were cloned under the regulation of a constitutive promoter (At6669; SEQ ID NO: 15751). The evaluation of each gene was performed by testing the performance of different number of events. Some of the genes were evaluated in more than one tissue culture assay. This second experiment confirmed the significant increment in leaf and root performance. Event with p-value<0.1 was considered statistically significant.

TABLE 184 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Dry Weight [mg] Gene Name Ave. P-Val. % Incr. LYD823 7.00 0.16 11 CONT. 6.30 — — LGP109 8.85 0.01 21 LGP103 8.92 0.08 22 CONT. 7.31 — — LYD819 5.87 0.14 24 CONT. 4.71 — — “CONT.”—Control; “Ave.”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 185 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter Leaf Area [cm²] Roots Coverage [cm²] Roots Length [cm] Gene P- % P- % P- % Name Ave. VaL Incr. Ave. VaL Incr. Ave. VaL Incr. LYD823 — — 6.52 0.23 21 — — — — CONT. — — 5.37 — — — — — — LGP109 0.632 0.12 11 — — — — — — LGP103 0.631 0.20 11 — — — — — — CONT. 0.569 — — — — — — — — LYD763 0.496 0.14 17 5.01 0.15 32 5.49 0.18 14 CONT. 0.425 — — 3.80 — — 4.84 — — Table 185. “CONT.”—Control; “Ave”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

TABLE 186 Genes showing improved plant performance at Normal growth conditions under regulation of At6669 promoter RGR Of Leaf Area RGR Of Roots Coverage Gene Name Ave. P-Val. % Incr. Ave. P-Val. % Incr. LYD823 — — — 0.770 0.24 23 CONT. — — — 0.629 — — LGP109 0.0610 0.28 10 — — — LGP103 0.0621 0.25 12 — — — CONT. 0.0553 — — — — — Table 186. “CONT.”—Control; “Ave”—Average; “% Incr.” = % increment; “p-val.”—p-value, L—p < 0.01.

These results demonstrate that the polynucleotides of the invention are capable of improving yield and additional valuable important agricultural traits such as increase of biomass, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, yield, vigor, fiber yield and/or quality. Thus, transformed plants showing improved fresh and dry weight demonstrate the gene capacity to improve biomass, a key trait of crops for forage and plant productivity; transformed plants showing improvement of seed yield demonstrate the genes capacity to improve plant productivity; transformed plants showing improvement of plot coverage and rosette diameter demonstrate the genes capacity to improve plant drought resistance as they reduce the loss of soil water by simple evaporation and reduce the competition with weeds; hence reduce the need to use herbicides to control weeds. Transformed plants showing improvement of relative growth rate of various organs (leaf and root) demonstrate the gene capacity to promote plant growth and hence shortening the needed growth period and/or alternatively improving the utilization of available nutrients and water leading to increase of land productivity; Transformed plants showing improvement of organ number, as demonstrated by the leaf number parameter, exhibit a potential to improve biomass and yield important for forage and plant productivity; Transformed plants showing increased root length and coverage demonstrate the gene capacity to improve drought resistance and better utilization of fertilizers as the roots can reach larger soil volume; Transformed plants showing improvement of leaf petiole relative area and leaf blade area demonstrate the genes capacity to cope with limited light intensities results from increasing the plant population densities and hence improve land productivity.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent that section headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarily limiting.

LENGTHY TABLES The patent application contains a lengthy table section. A copy of the table is available in electronic form from the USPTO web site (http://seqdata.uspto.gov/?pageRequest=docDetail&DocID=US20180230483A1). An electronic copy of the table will also be available from the USPTO upon request and payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.19(b)(3). 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising over-expressing within the plant a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 885, 713-716, 718-734, 737, 739-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-884, 886-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843, 9854, 9866-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, 15455-15721 or 15722 as compared to a wild type plant of the same species grown under the same growth conditions, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said amino acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 885, 713-735, 737, 739-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-884, 886-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9854, 9866-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said polypeptide is expressed from an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 564, 4-7, 9-25, 28, 30-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419, 421-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-563, 565-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, 8948-9270 or
 9271. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said polypeptide is expressed from an exogenous polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 564, 4-28, 30-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-419, 421-475, 477, 489-563, 565-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising growing the plant expressing said exogenous polynucleotide under nitrogen-limiting conditions.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising growing the plant expressing said exogenous polynucleotide under abiotic stress conditions.
 7. A method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 885, 713-716, 718-734, 737, 739-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-884, 886-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9854, 9866-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, and 15455-15722, wherein the crop plant is obtained from plants which have been transformed with said exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance, thereby producing the crop.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said amino acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 885, 713-735, 737, 739-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-884, 886-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9854, 9866-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein said exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 564, 4-7, 9-25, 28, 30-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419, 421-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-568, 570-563, 565-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, and 8948-9271.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 564, 4-28, 30-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-419, 421-475, 477, 489-563, 565-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.
 11. A nucleic acid construct comprising an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequence at least 80% identical to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 885, 713-716, 718-734, 737, 739-741, 743-744, 746-765, 767-784, 786-788, 790-795, 797, 810-811, 813-876, 878-884, 886-889, 891-929, 931-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1074, 1076-1080, 1082-1088, 1091-1092, 1094-1153, 9283-9526, 9536, 9550-9772, 9825, 9832, 9843-9854, 9866-9881, 9899, 9908, 9925-9988, 9990-10284, 10290-11275, 11278-11279, 11282-11284, 11289-11295, 11297-11299, 11301, 11303-11305, 11308-11312, 11314, 11384, 11386, 11394, 11400, 11407, 11416-11417, 11421, 11425-11426, 11429, 11433, 11439-11441, 11443-11444, 11446-11447, 11449-11450, 11453-11455, 11457, 11460, 11468-11469, 11471, 11475, 11482, 11485, 11488, 11494-11496, 11500-11503, 11505-11506, 11510-11513, 11516-11525, 11530, 11551, 11555, 11559, 11561, 11570-11571, 11582, 11589, 11605, 11612, 11695, 11697, 11699-13027, 13057, 13066, 13091-13092, 13104, 13109, 13116, 13119-13180, 13188, 13192-13327, 13329-13352, 13355-13929, 13941-13942, 13946-14913, 14989-15034, 15037-15049, 15051-15072, 15074-15221, 15229-15252, 15254-15272, 15281-15409, 15425, 15428-15434, 15455-15721 or 15722, and a promoter for directing transcription of said nucleic acid sequence in a host cell, wherein said promoter is heterologous to said isolated polynucleotide and/or to said host cell, wherein said amino acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.
 12. The nucleic acid construct of claim 11, wherein said amino acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 885, 713-735, 737, 739-741, 743-765, 767-795, 797, 809-884, 886-1021, 1029-1064, 1067-1080, 1082-1092, 1094-1153, 9276-9281, 9283-9532, 9534-9541, 9543-9545, 9548-9774, 9776, 9778-9785, 9788-9791, 9793-9801, 9803, 9806-9807, 9809-9820, 9822-9823, 9825-9838, 9840-9841, 9843-9854, 9866-9881, 9889-9890, 9893-9894, 9897-9899, 9901, 9904, 9906, 9908-9910, 9912-10285, 10287-11276, 11278-11319, 11321, 11323, 11328-11330, 11333-11336, 11339-11342, 11344-11355, 11357, 11359-11362, 11364-11366, 11369-13113, 13115-13944, 13946-14913, 14915, 14917-14918, 14920-14921, 14923-14924, 14927-14933, 14937, 14939-14940, 14942, 14944-14949, 14951, 14953, 14955-14958, 14960-14962, 14964-14971, 14973, 14976, 14978-14979, 14989-15221, 15225-15272, 15275-15410, 15412-15420, 15422-15423, 15425-15426, 15428-15434, 15436, 15440-15441, 15443-15444, 15446, 15448-15449, and 15451-15726.
 13. The nucleic acid construct of claim 11, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 564, 4-7, 9-25, 28, 30-32, 34-35, 37-56, 58-75, 77-79, 81-86, 88, 101-102, 104-167, 169-180, 182-220, 222-312, 320-389, 391, 395-398, 400-416, 419, 421-423, 425-426, 428-447, 449-464, 466-468, 470-475, 477, 490-491, 493-555, 557-563, 565-568, 570-605, 607-696, 704-709, 1164-1439, 1453, 1468-1733, 1788, 1795, 1806-1860, 1884, 1899, 1917-2324, 2331-3501, 3504-3506, 3509-3511, 3518-3526, 3528-3530, 3532, 3534-3536, 3540-3547, 3549, 3638, 3641-3643, 3652, 3661, 3663, 3668, 3671, 3683-3684, 3689, 3695-3696, 3700-3702, 3708, 3715-3718, 3720-3721, 3723-3724, 3726-3727, 3732-3733, 3735, 3737, 3740, 3750-3751, 3753, 3757, 3764-3765, 3768, 3772, 3776, 3783-3785, 3789-3792, 3794-3795, 3800-3803, 3806-3818, 3827, 3889, 3894, 3898, 3900, 3915-3916, 3936, 3943, 3964, 3971, 4099, 4101, 4103-4245, 4247-6064, 6103, 6112, 6137-6138, 6150, 6155, 6162, 6165-6237, 6245, 6249-6406, 6408-6434, 6437-7124, 7140-7141, 7145-8305, 8387-8453, 8457-8472, 8474-8505, 8507-8683, 8691-8720, 8722-8748, 8757-8898, 8915, 8918-8927, 8948-9270 or
 9271. 14. The nucleic acid construct of claim 11, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 564, 4-28, 30-86, 88, 100-312, 320-389, 391, 395-419, 421-475, 477, 489-563, 565-696, 704-709, 1157-4245, 4247-8375, 8387-8683, and 8686-9275.
 15. A plant cell transformed with the nucleic acid construct of claim
 11. 16. The plant cell of claim 15, wherein said plant cell forms part of a plant.
 17. A plant transformed with the nucleic acid construct of claim
 11. 18. The method of claim 1, wherein said abiotic stress is selected from the group consisting of: salinity, drought, osmotic stress, water deprivation, flood, etiolation, low temperature, high temperature, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency, nitrogen deficiency, nutrient excess, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.
 19. A method of growing a crop, the method comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with the nucleic acid construct of claim 11, wherein the plant is obtained from plants which have been transformed with said exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased nitrogen use efficiency, increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased biomass, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and increased oil content as compared to a non-transformed plant, thereby growing the crop.
 20. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a plant having an increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said selecting is performed under non-stress conditions.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein said selecting is performed under abiotic stress conditions. 